Blueprints for Chaos
by Jet Nebula
Summary: What happens when the problems of Crisis Core are left to the 'capable' hands of Zack, Sephiroth, Reno, and Kadaj, now a Turk? Chaos, disaster, drama, and a bit of dry humour, that's what. Co-written with a friend. Rated T for safety. CHAPTER SIX UP!
1. Chapter 1

Background :: Ever have one of those days when you and a friend are just really bored, and well…really nerdy? One of my best friends and I have this experience a lot, especially in the summer, which is the backdrop for this fanfiction. After playing eight-hour days of original FFVII, multiple run-throughs of Crisis Core, and the answer to the question of "What movie do you want to watch today?" always being "Advent Children!" we were inspired to write our own story. This started as just something to pass the time, being our respective favourite characters, and putting them all into one Crisis Core-like story-line, filling up a notebook as we wrote it back and forth (a bit like a role-play, but with more god-moding, if that makes sense). But we ended up taking a bit of pride in the result, so we decided to share it with the rest of the world, if anyone cares to read it. I'm posting it in pieces, but it is already written – just not all typed up yet, but at least it is done (or close enough).

Story :: This story takes place in a Crisis Core era of time in Gaia, with similar problems with Genesis. However, we took our own take on it completely, so though the problem may be the same, our approach is not the same as the game's. After all, what would happen if Zack Fair, Sephiroth, Reno, and Kadaj (a Turk for our purposes – she loves Kadaj, what can I say? Had to include him somehow) were all placed on the mission together? A good time, we thought!

Characters/Writers :: When the story is centred more on Zack or Reno (and later Genesis) – I am the writer. When the story focues more on Kadaj or Sephiroth, my friend is the writer. I will put a '' and who is writing in between our different sections to designate a switch in authorship, if only to give ourselves respective credit for the chaos.

Final Words :: Well, I just thought that all those things were important clarification before the story started – so now both my friend (whom I affectionately call Sephie) and myself both wish you happy reading, and thank you for giving our insanity a place to rear its head in public domain!

Disclaimer :: We own nothing but our own personal ideas used in this story – places, characters, and basis for situations are all owned by Square Enix and all those people. Believe me – if we owned it, we wouldn't hardly be writing fanfiction with it, now, would we?

* * *

**Blueprints for Chaos - **Chapter One

~Me

"Sorry, but I'm not looking for a SOLDIER guy."

Zack blinked a few times, confusion the dominant expression on his face as the woman quickly turned and headed in the opposite direction down the street. He had been about to question her about a rumour of some sort of monster that was apparently stalking one of the alleys near Sector Five. All he had accomplished toward finding said alley was tapping a woman on the shoulder to see what she knew and opening his mouth before he had been cut off by her remark and hasty retreat. It was a statement that he was hearing increasingly more often as he grew older. It made him question how some of his colleagues chose to spend their time between missions – but then, perhaps it was better to not know the details.

Zack shrugged, running a gloved hand back through his messy black hair roughly. This was clearly going to be a frustrating personal mission, he could see that now. He had only wanted an exciting way to pass the evening before his next mission (Director Lazard had not given him any details yet, but that only made it more tantalizing to him) and what was more exciting than conquering a monster? Not much in Zack's opinion, though clearly, others felt differently about the subject…no Zack, just don't go there.

Zack slowly walked towards the fountain in the middle of the square, swinging his arms a bit overdramatically to illustrate his boredom. His Mako blue eyes scanned the fairly empty square for something – anything – to capture his interest. Finally, after several severely disappointing minutes, Zack reluctantly decided to resign back to the ShinRa building. The only people that seemed to be around were the devotees to a few fan clubs established for the bigger names of SOLDIER, such as Angeal and Genesis – and of course, Sephiroth, though his fan clubs were almost as exclusive as his personality. Those women were always around the ShinRa building with hopes of seeing one of their "heroes," though, and had little interest in Zack. He let out a heavy sigh, and then headed back towards ShinRa headquarters with the stance of being defeated in a battle.

Zack entered the SOLDIER floor from the lift in an uncharacteristically bad mood, not tired, but not certain what else to do, either. He headed towards the small lounge area, keeping his eyes open for his best friend a fellow Second Class Kunsel. He was less than surprised when he did not find the other man – Kunsel was probably out in Sector Eight having a good time without Zack, like he typically did. Zack thought he remembered his friend mentioning something about going to see the play they made of the epic poem LOVELESS – not that it was important. No matter what, he was not there.

As Zack scanned the room one last time, his hands folded and rested behind his neck with his elbows sticking out. Casually, his gaze fell on a lone figure standing at the window overlooking Midgar, standing eerily still. The black trench coat and straight silver hair could only be one person – SOLDIER First Class Sephiroth.

Zack narrowed his eyes a bit in confusion for the second time that evening – what could someone like Sephiroth be doing down on the SOLDIER level? As far as Zack knew, Sephiroth usually was in Director Lazard's office when he was not on a mission. Sephiroth did not seem concerned that Zack was in the room. Rather, he just kept staring out the window. After shifting back and forth on his feet for a few moments indecisively, Zack finally walked up next to the older man, standing beside him at the window.

"I don't think I have ever seen you down here before," Zack stated, keeping his tone casual to match his stance. In reality, he was fairly excited to be seeing Sephiroth at all – this only marked the third time ever in person, and Zack was in his fifth year at SOLDIER. He glanced at the other man for a moment, before forcing his gaze back out the window, trying to see what Sephiroth found so interesting – but all he saw was the skyline of the city, lit up occasionally by pulses in the Mako being harvested.

* * *

Reno was not a happy person. At all. Less than usual.

The day had started out promising – special meeting with the President on the top floor of the ShinRa building for a "special" assignment meeting, and that was all the more description that Tseng had offered to give him over the mobile, no matter how much Reno had tried to "convince" him to say more. Although that had made Reno a bit suspicious, he had assumed the assignment was just too important to discuss on the mobile. He could not have been more mistaken.

When Reno had reached the President's large office, however, he had learned the true details of his assignment – take the newest member of the Turks with him to investigate rumours of an Anti-ShinRa group in the nearby town of Kalm. And Reno had not been able to say anything in protest considering the words were coming right from the President's mouth – instead, he had to endure staring as his typical partner and closest friend Rude stood behind the President's chair with a smug, knowing expression on his face. Rude knew what Reno was thinking without the two having to speak about it – many years of working together had that sort of result.

It was not long after that shock to Reno's system – he felt personally offended to be appointed honourary baby-sitter, which was how he always saw rookie situations – that he met the involuntary offender. The man had silver hair and greenish eyes, very similar to Sephiroth's, but his youth was also apparent in his features. Somehow, he looked less than pleased…

"I thought it was only a few kilometers to Kalm from Midgar."

"You're thinking correctly."

"Then why do we need to take the helicopter?"

"Because I said we were taking the helicopter."

Reno glanced to his right at the younger man for a moment – Kadaj, that's what he said his name was – to see a rather annoyed expression looking back at him. "And because I like the helicopter," Reno then muttered to himself before quickly taking off before Kadaj could make any further protest.

It was only a few short minutes before the ShinRa helicopter carrying two less than pleased Turks landed outside Kalm. As he climbed from the helicopter, Reno surveyed his surroundings – the small picturesque town looked like something out of a storybook. Compared to Midgar, it felt like going back in time. Reno had always been puzzled by how the two towns could be so geographically close, and yet be so far apart technologically. As his eyes moved to survey a group of three women wearing their long, modest dresses, he shook his head. Oh, how he absolutely hated any amount f time he spent in Kalm – let alone with a rookie.

With that thought, Reno glanced over his shoulder at this comrade for the day. "Is this your first time in Kalm?" he asked casually, general disinterest in his voice.

"Yes," Kadaj's reply was cool as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I hope you were not expecting much. We shouldn't be here that long. I doubt we will find much, anyway," Reno paused, twirling his Electro-Mag Rod around a bit absently before adding, "Too bad this is your first mission." He smirked a bit with that, and then walked with his typical swagger towards the town.

He believed what he had told Kadaj – somehow, he found it hard to believe that an anti-ShinRa group could ever form in a town so populated by people that generally seemed to worship Mako and how "convenient" it made their lives, and how infatuated they seemed to be with Midgar. Generally, it left Reno with a feeling of disgust he usually did not bother to hide. "Let's just get this over with and get back to Midgar," Reno stated, his tone clearly showing he believed the order to be one of non-contestation.

* * *

~Friend

Sephiroth stood, his mind wandering over many things, not really focusing on any one thing for more than a few moments. It took his mind several minutes to register that someone was standing beside him and had spoken. After a brief moment of searching his mind he remembered the SOLDIER's name.

"You are Zack, correct?" he asked, enjoying the look of surprise that crossed the other man's face.

"You know my name?" the younger man had a look of slight disbelief now mixing with the surprise.

"Of course. I feel it's my duty to know all of SOLDIER. That, and I get the feeling we may see a lot of each other sometime soon." With that he turned, walking to the exit of the building, a small smile playing on his lips.

Sephiroth wandered around Midgar his mind occupied by the most confusing topic to him – Mother. He had never heard of such a thing until well into his teenage years when a fellow SOLDIER mentioned theirs. He had sort of had the concept of 'brother' explained to him, yet mother puzzled him, since he had never seen his.

After a while he shook his head as if to clear it, and turned instead to face the peson who had been following him for some time.

"Can I help you?"

"You are from SOLDIER, no?"

"Yes," he replied, knowing almost exactly what would come next.

"Well you see," as the woman paused he looked at her. Noticing his gaze carefully taking in every detail of her appearance, the woman seemed to get nervous. "If you're too busy I'll find someone else."

"No, please continue. I take it there is something terrorizing your home?"

"Not just my home, but the others around it as well."

Sephiroth sighed, knowing it was probably nothing more than a giant rat. "You know, there is a young, very skilled SOLDIER that I will send to aid you. I'm sorry, but I am far too busy to be killing monsters."

"What does he look like so I know him to ask for help?"

"Dark hair, light eyes. Answers to Zack….ah, so he's been here," Sephiroth said, noticing an embarrassed look cross the woman's face. "Well, I'll send him back, and next time, you'll know."

He made his way back to 'home base,' wondering if Zack would still be standing by the window. Upon entering the SOLDIER floor, he saw the youth sprawled on a couch, an arm over his eyes. "Zack, you are needed in Sector Five. There's been a report concerning a monster." He turned, walking away before the younger SOLDIER had time to react. In all reality, he was pretty sure he knew the reaction. It was probably the same as everyone else when Sephiroth 'sneaks up on them.'

He paused at the window outside the door leading to Director Lazard's office. Almost instantly he resumed the position he had assumed on the lower level. He wondered what would happen to the planet below if they were to expand Midgar, covering the sky completely, leaving only the smallest of spaces to let the light through.

* * *

If Reno was unhappy, he wasn't the only one. Kadaj was extremely upset. Not only was his first mission a severe disappointment, but so was the person he was going with. He already could see a conflict coming up, and they weren't even halfway there yet. He could feel the childish question coming to his lips, yet felt powerless to stop it. "Are we there yet?" he asked, glad it didn't come out in the whine he heard in his head.

"Clearly not," Reno replied, unable to hide the irritation in his voice. "If you have a problem with our speed, you can walk next time."

"No, next time I'll take my bike, and I'll get there in half the time," Kadaj said, settling back in his seat with a smirk. The older Turk was easily annoyed, which meant hours of amusement for Kadaj. _Perhaps this won't be as bad as I imagined,_ thought Kadaj, his smile getting wider.

Now following his temporary partner through Kalm he began to regret his hasty judgment. The senior Turk was irritating, arrogant, and Kadaj was already thinking about how he wanted to just get it over with when Reno voiced the same thought.

"Finally, something we agree on. You," he aid to a man they passed on the street, "I'm looking for an anti-ShinRa group. Can you tell me where to find them?" He could almost hear Reno rolling his eyes.

The man laughed. "You will find no such things here. We are grateful to ShinRa for how much easier life has become. Again, you will find none against them here. I can tell b your dress you work for ShinRa – why do you look for those against them?"

"It's just my job. Thank you for your help," Kadaj added, not wanting to seem rude. The man smiled and continued on his way. Kadaj turned to find himself with an irritated, yet amused Reno.

"You have no subtly, do you? Do you really think they would tell you even if they knew of it?"

"Of course not, but I hate beating around the bush. Especially since this is not my first choice of a job." As soon as the words left his mouth, Kadaj regretted saying them. "I'm a straightforward person, and you learn more by catching people off-guard with a direct question than any other way. Or at least I have better luck that way. Now come on, I'm sure we can find out something somewhere."

They continued through the town, Kadaj blocking out Reno and any questions he may have been asking. His mind was going over what he let slip. It was true, he hadn't wanted to be a Turk, but had been chosen by ShinRa himself. If Kadaj could have picked, he would have been in SOLDIER. No, they weren't as exclusive, nor were they paid as well, but he would have preferred to be near the man he aspired to be. Ever since he was young, even if there was only a few years difference in their age, h wanted to be like the great hero Sephiroth. _But_, he thought with a sigh, _I am stuck as a Turk, with no partner, no place, and no res-- _He was jerked out of his thoughts by Reno's anguished cry from beside him.

Kadaj looked up to see the smoking remains of what used to be a helicopter. "I guess there is an anti-ShinRa group here somewhere," he said, earning him an angry glare from his fellow Turk. "What?" he asked, arranging his face in what he hoped was an innocent expression, "That is the most logical explanation; that, or there's an anti-helicopter group here somewhere." He stepped back just in case Reno took a swing at him. Although he didn't, Kadaj could tell the thought was in his head, and decided not to push things more than he already had. Getting an injury from his 'partner' on his first mission didn't seem like the best idea.

* * *

Author's Note :: Well, there's the first bit of it! I know it's a bit confusing to follow, and short (I want to make sure people want to read more before I post longer sections) but I promise it gets better as it goes – looks like you will just have to wait and see what happens next. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note :: Thanks for the reviews! I was inspired to post the next chapter even though its only been one day - I am really excited to get this story out there. And besides - I hope the story gets better as it progresses, so I wanted to have a piece up I feel more confident about than the introductory stuff. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Two

~Me

Zack had been genuinely surprised when the older SOLDIER had not only recognized him, but had known his name. Maybe that meant he really was on his way to becoming a true hero like he dreamt of being – a hero like Angeal. Or a hero like Sephiroth, for that matter. Then to add to his general excitement, Sephiroth had mentioned the two would be seeing a lot of each other soon – did he really mean that? Zack hoped so…maybe he was even on his way to becoming a First! He certainly felt that he deserved that.

However, before Zack had been able to question Sephiroth about anything he said, the older man had turned and left. Zack had enough sense to know to not pursue him. Instead, he felt his feeling of disappointment with the rest of the evening and general boredom was over him again after only a few moments of being alone. He let out another exasperated sigh before heading for one of the sofas behind him, collapsing heavily on it with an arm over his face to block out the irritating light above his head. This had clearly not been the best sofa to choose, but he did not feel like moving, either.

Zack never felt himself drift off into a light sleep, but he knew he must have, because it felt like only a few short moments before he heard Sephiroth's voice again. But again, before Zack could really say anything, the older man had already turned and was walking away – but Zack did not care as much this time. Now he had a mission – monsters in Sector Five! Perhaps it was the same ones he had been in an attempted pursuit of earlier…that would be somewhat satisfying. Zack jumped up to his feet, drawing the sword from his back. "Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed with confidence, feigning a few moves at an invisible target. "SOLDIER Second Class Zack, on the job!" feigned finishing blow into the same invisible adversary, "Scourging Sector Five of monsters like a hero!" With a grin, he quickly replaced the sword on his back and ran towards the lift. 49 floors had never felt so long.

It did not take Zack long to find the people that were being terrorized – ironically, one of them was the woman he had attempted to speak to earlier in the night, who now appeared to be trying to avoid looking at him as much as possible while being inconspicuous about it – and failing both. "Are you Zack, then?" one of the others inquired of him, the man's eyes showing he was a bit anxious.

"Zack Fair," Zack replied with enthusiasm, his hands going to his hips and his chest puffing a bit with his typical confident stance. It never hurt to get one's name out there when working to become a hero, after all.

"It seems a few monsters have made it up from the slums somehow and are in a few of the alleys near our homes," the man replied, seeming less than impressed by Zack's display.

With a mix of disappointment at not getting the reaction he wanted and confusion in what he heard, Zack moved his arms to cross over his chest as he asked, "Monsters in the slums? I doubted there were any in Midgar."

"Don't be so naïve," Zack heard one of the women say before she was quickly silenced by her husband (or Zack assumed him to be her husband) and he heard a muttered, "He works for ShinRa, don't forget."

"The slums below the plate are full of monsters, yeah," the original man interjected before much else could be said. Zack's eyes shifted between a few of the other people before settling on the speaker. He had never actually been to the slums himself, so he was willing to listen, even though his hands were twitching with anticipation of the upcoming fight. "They rarely make it up onto the plate itself with the people like us, though," the man continued, "Which is why we need you."

Zack blinked a few times at the statement 'people like us,' but said nothing. What had the man meant by that? Perhaps it was time for him to make his first trip below the plate – after all, Midgar had been his home for five years now. "Well, I'm here to solve your problem, then," Zack offered with a bit of a shrug. At this point, he really just wanted to get started rather than let the conversation get awkward.

The man nodded in response, and it appeared the others were just as anxious as Zack for him to get to work. Before long he found himself alone in the alley, his sword drawn and a wide grin on his face. He did not have to wait long for his target to appear. Zack's eyes narrowed a bit at the monsters as they came towards him in a group of five – they had the appearance of slugs, but had serrated teeth and were as long as Zack was tall and half his height. He knew he would take pleasure in ridding Sector Five of something so disgusting.

As Zack exited the alley with a satisfied look on his face, twirling his sword around him rather victoriously, he noticed the woman from the beginning of the evening was still in the street. "I take it you…umm..you got them?" she asked Zack slowly, approaching him.

"They didn't stand a chance against me," Zack replied as he returned his sword to his back, his eyes shining with his obvious confidence and excitement.

"You know, about what I said earlier…" the woman began, continuing to close the distance between the two of them, now looking at Zack fully rather than hiding as he had been earlier, "I…didn't really mean it. I mean, I always make exceptions when I think it will be worth it."

Yet again, Zack felt a feeling of confusion for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by realization. He smirked, again crossing his arms over his chest. "Is that so?" he asked her then, unable to keep his smirk from becoming a grin. This was the last thing he had expected the woman to say, but…his thought was interrupted then by his mobile, the ring piercing the otherwise silent street.

Zack shrugged, his mind already moved on from the woman to the mobile as he answered it. "Zack, Director Lazard needs to see you in the briefing room. Something has come up. Now." With those words, the speaker hung up before Zack could say anything, or even figure out who he had been speaking to.

"Looks like mission time!" Zack stated, more for his own personal satisfaction rather than as any sort of explanation to the woman. He then ran in the direction of the ShinRa building without so much as a glance back over his shoulder, his mind already making up possible exciting scenarios that the mission could possibly be.

* * *

Reno stared in silence for a few moments as the fire that had been his helicopter lit up the evening sky, his eyes tearing from the disaster only long enough to send a scowl and a threatening look at the younger Turk. What kind of sick people would blow up a helicopter that was just…sitting there…? Of course, Kadaj was correct with his original analysis – clearly, an anti-ShinRa group had formed in Kalm. Really, perhaps it was plausible, if only for the fact that no one would have expected it. Like himself, Reno sourly admitted.

"They may still be in the area," Reno then observed before running back in the direction they had come from towards the wreckage that had been a helicopter. For a brief moment, Reno wondered if this was one of those times when he should say something like, 'Stick close to me, Kadaj, and you'll be safe,' or, 'Don't get nervous, I'm looking out for you.' But the moment was a very brief one indeed – it was not that he wished for something bad to happen to the silver-haired boy. Reno was just not about to put himself in a position of sounding like a guardian – he was not a babysitter, after all. He figured Kadaj could handle himself if he had to – Reno was counting on that assumption.

As the two entered the small clearing, Reno could see there was absolutely nothing left of the machine – powerful explosives. His eyes quickly scanned the surrounding area, his expression clearly showing his anger at his new development, but he saw nothing. Suddenly, Reno heard his mobile ringing, and he snapped it open quickly.

"I see smoke, and rightfully assume you are connected," Reno heard Tseng's flat tone on the other end. Reno bit his lip to keep from snapping something he might regret later (well, that is, if he were much for regrets) to the man at the head of the Turks.

"Seem the rumours were fact," Reno replied quickly, though was not able to keep his own tone very calm. "Took out the helicopter."

"We heard that they might be well supplied," Tseng answered, and Reno could almost hear a bit of smugness in his voice. "What's the situation?"

"Big friggin' hole in the ground, but I…" Reno cut off with a glance back at Kadaj, who was knelt ont eh edge of the wreckage, a bit of the fire that still burned glinting off of his light hair, "I mean, we're okay. Going straight to the source of the problem."

"The President is concerned about things getting out of hand in Kalm," Tseng continued as though Reno had said nothing, "He wants to send in at least two SOLDIER operatives to quickly extinguish the problem."

Reno scowled at that statement – the last thing he wanted to deal with was anyone from SOLDIER, and it made him feel like he could not be trusted to handle the problem himself. "That is not going to have the inconspicuous effect he wants," Reno spat in response.

"Don't argue with the President's orders, Reno." He felt scolded by the other man, but settled for just gritting his teeth a bit – had it been anyone but Tseng…

"No more than two," Reno said in response, his words dark. "And they will be surprised when they get here and find the Turks have already dealt with everything." Reno could hear Tseng say his name as he snapped the mobile shut again, not wanting to discuss it any longer.

"So they are sending people from SOLDIER?" Kadaj asked, and Reno could hear something almost wistful in the boy's words. Seemed he had been listening after all.

"They want the problem solved quickly," Reno replied, not hiding the sarcasm and disgust in his voice from the younger Turk.

Kadaj shrugged, raising to his feet with a bit of a smirk on his face. "Then maybe they'll send one of the best."

* * *

~Friend

Sephiroth sat at the large wooden table at the briefing room. He stared at the grain of the wood, eyes taking in the patterns and subtle variations in the colours of the wood. He had a slight smile on his lip, waiting for the others to arrive.

"Sephiroth," he heard the Director's surprised voice exclaim, "I didn't realize you came straight here."

"Of course I did. I had nothing better to do," Sephiroth replied, never lifting his eyes from the table before him. "So I take it Zack is on his way and you'll give us our mission then?"

"Sometimes you scare me with what you know," his superior replied with a sigh. "Yes, that is the plan, unless you know the mission already, too."

Sephiroth laughed at Lazard's implication. "I'm well informed, not psychic," he replied, a light chuckle still lacing his voice. He finally looked up, his Mako green eyes glowing with subtle amusement, only to see the younger SOLDIER walk in followed by the President.

"Good, you're here," ShinRa said, no emotion in his voice. "Two of my Turks were recently sent to Kalm to investigate an anti-ShinRa group. I know how that sounds," he said, noticing Sephiroth raise an eyebrow at the thought. "I suppose I should clarify. It's a Turk and a trainee. Apparently the rumours are true. After some investigation, they returned to find themselves minus a ride. Clearly this faction is well equipped, and violent. I decided they could use some, well, _muscle_ to help."

All through the President's speech, Sephiroth sat and watched the younger SOLDIER intently. At first he was fidgeting, clearly excited, and then slightly on edge as he noticed Sephiroth's gaze on him. He broke his gaze to look at the President.

"So I take it we meet them at the helicopter…well, where it used to be, at least. What exactly are our orders, Sir?" Sephiroth added with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Meet the Turks, find this group, and eliminate it."

"How will we know which people are the Turks?" Sephiroth turned to once again look at Zack, who had been silent to that point. He then turned back to the President.

"Oh, trust me," ShinRa said with a smirk, "You'll know who they are." Sephiroth felt a slight trickle of fear to see that the President was looking at him with a very odd expression on his face.

As they exited the briefing room, Sephiroth slowed his pace to allow the younger man to catch up. "I wonder who they have with Reno…"

"How do you know that Reno's there?" Zack asked, the surprise showing on his face.

"Well, Rude was in the room with us, and Tseng and Cissnei were outside the door. Besides, Rude and Reno are only ever separated when they have separate missions. Even then, that's only when they have to train a new Turk, and all the other Turks take turns."

"So," the younger SOLDIER said slowly, his excitement beginning to become more and more apparent, "We're being sent to fight since the new kid isn't cutting it and it's too big of a job for just Reno?"

"I don't know about the new one being incompetent, but from the sound of things it is a rather big job for two people. Now, go get anything you may need, and meet me outside of Kalm," and with that he turned, going to gather his own thing for the mission.

* * *

Kadaj leaned back, watching Reno pace in front of the hole where his helicopter had once been. They had been waiting for most of the day for the SOLDIERs to arrive. He couldn't help but hope they would send Genesis…or perhaps his idol, Sephiroth. He really hoped to meet the silver-haired man he so resembled, but knew the chances of that were slim. There were so many SOLDIERs that the chance of them sending him were not only slim, but non-existent….

"Oh, fantastic," he heard Reno groan, "Why did they have to send you?"

"They send me because you needed help, and I was free to do the helping. I'm sorry if you would prefer someone else, but you're stuck with me. Now, are we going to do something about this, or stand staring at a smoking hole in the ground?"

Kadaj's head snapped up, finding himself eye to eye with Mako green eyes that exactly matched his own. He gasped, knowing only one person with eyes like that. As soon as that thought hit him, he noticed that Sephiroth was walking away. Kadaj turned and looked at the dark haired SOLDIER who had come with the older SOLDIER. "Hey, I'm Kadaj…you are?" he asked, offering his hand.

"Zack. You know, you really look like Seph…"

Kadaj heard that compliment – yes, it was a compliment – often, and it never ceased to bring a smile to his face. "So I've been told. I must say, I envy you. I would have killed to be in your place. Instead, I'm stuck with captain irritated A.D.D.," he said, gesturing ahead where Sephiroth and Reno were talking together, discussing what was known about the group.

"Zack, keep up. Its important for you to know the details of this, too," Sephiroth said, no anger in his voice, yet Zack reeled as if slapped.

"Hey, you better keep up too, tw-err…Kadaj," Reno said, trying to be nice so it wouldn't get back to the President he was mistreating the new kids.

When Sephiroth had first seen the young Turk, he had stopped, causing Zack to into him. The resemblance was frightening. He looked almost exactly as Sephiroth had at he same age, down to the Mako green eyes.

As he and Reno walked, his mind wandered to all the possible explanations for the resemblance. Though his mind found many possible explanations, each seemed as unlikely as the next. He was so lost in thought, he didn't even notice that Zack was still lingering behind with the other boy, though they weren't as far behind as before.

"So are we going to talk about the idiots that blew up my chopper, or are we just going to pretend it didn't happen? Personally, I want to talk about it. After that, I want to find the creeps, do my job, get home, and get a new helicopter. So let's find these creeps, yeah?" Of course, it was Reno.

"I'm glad you think this will be so simple. If you can manage to keep your mouth shut, it may be. However, since the chances of that are slim to none, I see this taking a while."

Reno stood still for a moment spattering, a look of indignation on his face. Sephiroth heard a couple of chuckles from behind him to see Zack and the silver-haired Turk, trying to muffle their laughter. Sephiroth allowed himself a small smirk, and then began to walk towards Kalm.

"C'mon, we need to find a place to say. Unless of course, you were planning on sleeping in that hole back there," Sephiroth pointed out.

"I know of a bar here that will have some empty rooms," Reno offered, "It's not far."

"Then lead the way."

When they arrived, Sephiroth allowed Reno to secure some sleeping space. Somehow he got the feeling Reno and the bartender were rather good friends.

"Well, I have some bad news. There are only four beds," Reno said upon returning.

"How's that bad news?" Zack asked, genuine confusion showing on his face.

"Because, there are only two rooms. That means we have to share rooms. I've already decided that if I have to room with Kadaj, it won't end well for him, so we'll let the rookies share. Sound good?"

"Sounds fine to me," replied Sephiroth. He knew he shouldn't say it, but he couldn't resist goading the red-headed Turk. "Besides, it's not like you'll be leaving the bar long enough to sleep anyways. Now, since we have a 'base' established I think we need to go out into the town to see what we can find out about this group." He made his way out of the bar, knowing the others would follow eventually.

~Me

Reno scowled for a moment at Sephiroth's comment about him staying in the bar, but shrugged it off rather quickly. He knew that there was some truth to the accusation – he would do his work to find the rebels, yes, but a few drinks on the side were also a very real possibility. After all, he had become friends with the bartender in the past, and he certainly had not done that by beating the other person with his EMR.

Reno then glanced casually back over his shoulder in the direction of said bar, but his eyes fell instead on Kadaj and the young SOLDIER – Zack or something. Reno rolled his eyes a bit at the situation in general, then said, "I'd better go with him and make sure he is really getting information and not just intimidating the pants off of everyone." His tone showed that he was not going to do this out of want so much as out of resignation that he had to.

Reno then nodded towards the SOLDIER. "You're not my responsibility, so I really don't care what you do," he said with a casual tone, before his expression turned much more serious as he pointed his EMR at Kadaj. "As for you – what happens to you comes back on me, but I'm not going to spend the trip holding your hand. Cause trouble, and I'll personally beat that smug look off your face. Get killed, and I'll…I'll…well, just be careful." Reno quickly turned and left the two of them in pursuit of Sephiroth, determined to not let the SOLDIER take away his job. Besides, whatever thug had blown up the helicopter was going to personally answer to Reno.

After the Turk had disappeared, Zack began to shift his weight a bit restlessly, turning to face his new companion by default. "What does that leave for us to do?" he asked Kadaj, disappointment obvious in his voice. "They're getting all the action like we are useless."

Kadaj was silent for a few moments, clearly thinking before replying with, "We could always do some investigative work ourselves." His tone showed he thought the idea was a good one and should not be questioned. "They're skirting around the issue – we can search for the source and prove that we're not just…rookies." They way Kadaj said the last word showed it was clearly not one of his favourite terms.

Zack's eyes lit up at Kadaj's suggestion. "They didn't tell us to stay here, after all," he observed, his voice excited. "Just because we're younger doesn't mean we're incapable. Sitting around in an inn while Sephiroth takes all the glory is no way to get promoted to First."

Kadaj scowled a bit at Zack's last statement. "It was my idea, not yours," he reminded, but Zack appeared to already be thinking about something else and soon rushed out the door.

Once Zack was out in the street again, however, a bit of his excitement began to fade. Where did they even start? The streets were practically empty – everyone had probably retreated when the helicopter was destroyed. One thing that had not disappeared, however, was Zack's determination, and he refused to be discouraged. As his eyes flicked around the main square, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced back quickly to see Kadaj nod toward one of the buildings. Zack just barely caught sight of a figure in the shadows as it disappeared inside. "Do you think that's something?" Zack asked a bit skeptically as he crossed his arms over his chest. Though he tried to hide it, he was clearly disappointed that the Turk had found something of interest so quickly while he was being generally distracted. "I mean, maybe it was just a normal civilian," he added.

"If it was, then he should have no fear when we go check things out because he has nothing to hide," Kadaj justified before setting off for the house. Zack noticed the other man's hand rested lightly on the hilt of some kind of sword as he walked. Zack quickly jogged to catch up, falling in beside the Turk.

They stopped together just outside the door, glancing at one another. "Let's just go in," Zack suggested in the quietest voice he could manage, and after a nod from Kadaj, Zack backed up a few steps before kicking in the door, which opened much easier than he had anticipated and thus made a loud crash as it swung into the inside wall. "That…might have been unlocked," Zack observed a bit sheepishly, resting a hand on the back of his neck.

"A plausible guess," Kadaj said with a smirk before moving into the building. Zack followed, nudging the door shut behind them with his boot, allowing the main room to be seen in sparse places by a few strategically placed…candles? Zack scratched his head a bit in wonder as he quickly scanned what he could see of the room and saw at least two other doors and a staircase. But…why candles? Why not some sort of Mako energy light? Even in the technologically backwards town of Kalm they used ShinRa provided Mako energy for lighting…Kadaj very well could have found something significant…

"I think the two of you need to work on your entrance," a voice suddenly said, ripping Zack from his thoughts. He saw Kadaj instantly draw his blade, and Zack did the same. "Such theatrics can be so inappropriate," the voice continued, and Zack thought the smooth words and cool tone sounded vaguely familiar…he did not have to ponder that thought long, though, as the figure stepped into the light.

"…Genesis?" Zack half-asked, half-observed in confusion as he lowered his blade slightly. Kadaj made no such movement, his eyes locked on the man with the red jacket.

The slightest of smiles played on Genesis' features. He seemed completely un-intimidated by the other twos' weapons, and his own blade was nowhere in sight. "What could an unnamed Turk and a SOLDIER Second Class possibly be doing in Kalm besides rudely barging into homes that do not belong to them?" Genesis questioned calmly, his tone more amused than accusing, though his eyes were intense.

"We're on assignment," Zack relied, unable to hide a bit of pride in that statement from his voice.

"Alone?" Genesis asked, his tone unchanging.

"We can handle ourselves," Kadaj interjected, his voice a mix between threatening and just confident in himself. Zack considered mentioning that Sephiroth was in the town as well – he had heard that the two SOLDIERs were friends – but decided to let Kadaj's answer stand alone.

"What about you?" Zack asked instead. He could not help feeling a bit of excitement at having now met another of the most famous SOLDIERs in one day. "On assignment as well?"

"My business here is my own," Genesis replied, showing a level of confidence by turning his back to the two armed men to cross to a small window, peering out at the dark sky. "Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess," Genesis then stated, and somehow his tone showed a bit more emotion. "We seek it thus, and take to the sky."

There was a silence then between the three, and Zack broke his transfixed gaze on Genesis to look to Kadaj to see if the other man knew how to respond. He could not help but feel a bit suspicious about the entire situation, though he did not want to. After a few moments that seemed much longer than they really were, Genesis half-glanced over his shoulder at he two. "You're still here. What are you waiting for?" There was another silence with glances between Zack and Kadaj, neither sure what to do, until finally Genesis let out a deep breath, reaching into the shadows to his right. When his hand returned to the light, it gripped his trademark red rapier. Both Kadaj and Zack instantly tensed, their own swords held ready, but Genesis only walked calmly past hem and back towards the door.

"Though the marrow is barren of promises," Genesis said in his more passionate tone from earlier as he opened the door, "Nothing shall forestall my return." He closed the door softly behind him as he left. There was only a short pause before both Zack and Kadaj rushed towards the door, and Zack this time used the conveniently located door handle to throw the door open.

Zack's eyes quickly glanced around the square, but it was as sparsely populated as before. "He's gone," he stated unnecessarily, replacing his sword on his back.

"The figure that went into the building in the first place was not that man," Kadaj then said, his sword still drawn threateningly. "That shadow had no jacket, nor did it move the same way. He was not alone in the building."

"Genesis is a SOLDIER First Class, just like Sephiroth," Zack stated defiantly, "Maybe it was just someone he knew. It doesn't automatically make him connected."

"But it also does not automatically make him innocent," Kadaj said darkly. Zack was not certain if the Turk was really that strong of a believer in what he said – or if he was just determined to not be proven wrong. Either motive was making him seem intimidating.

Before Zack could come back with his own retort, however, he heard the sound of familiar voices approaching. "We were trying to get answers, Reno, not a hedonistic experience."

"I think you'd be surprised at how much more people are willing to share with you when you are in that sort of…position. Not to mention it's more interesting than just asking questions on street corners."

"You might have cost us valuable information."

"Well, now we'll never know since you made us leave. Could have been fountains of useful information just waiting to be tapped. And really, Sephiroth, there were four of them and two of us, so – "

"I did not think the two of you would stay in the inn long," Sephiroth cut Reno off as he saw Zack and Kadaj. The Turk looked confused for a few seconds until his eyes fell on he other two as well, and he rolled his eyes a bit. Typical, just when his argument was making its best point. "Did you have any success?" Sephiroth then asked, glancing back at Reno with a rather accusing expression as thought eh ginger was the reason behind their personal failure.

"Genesis was here, in that building," Zack offered, pointing behind him.

"He was acting kind of strange," Kadaj then added.

"Genesis always acts like that," Sephiroth interjected quickly, and Kadaj looked like he had been slapped in the face. Zack was rather surprised himself – had Sephiroth actually defended the other man? That seemed unconventional. Perhaps they really were friends.

"There was at least one other person there, though," Zack then contributed, "We saw them go in, but did not see them when we were inside." Zack paused for a moment before risking, "Genesis did say some really odd things...like, he was quoting something else."

A very slight smile formed on Sephiroth's lips at that statement. "LOVELESS," he said simply, before his expression turned serious once more. "We'll investigate the building for anyone else suspicious. Zack, stay out here; Reno, come with me."

There was a mutual, "What? No way!" from both Reno and Zack at the same time and a scoff from Kadaj that he quickly turned into a cough. Zack continued to protest that he wanted to go with Sephiroth while Reno kept agreeing that Zack was a good choice – after all, the boy clearly wanted to go.

"How much more of my time are you going to waste disagreeing with me?" Sephiroth raised his voice only enough to silence the other two. "The decision has been made – let's go." Zack looked to the ground, clearly disappointed as Reno brushed past him, following Sephiroth towards the building.

"The door is unlocked, by the way," Kadaj finally spoke again after being silenced earlier, sounding rather smug as he sent a challenging glance towards Zack. Zack only grinned in response.

Reno and Sephiroth split up almost immediately upon entering the building, only together long enough to comment on the candle usage. Reno took the stairs, his walk casual, though he held the EMR at the read. All the while, he was having dark thoughts about a certain silver-haired SOLDIER. He could not believe that a SOLDIER had just given him an unquestionable order. SOLDIERs only answered to Director Lazard – the Turks came straight form the President himself. However, Reno enjoyed living enough that he knew better than to make these points to Sephiroth – he would, however, discuss it with Rude later. Maybe over a drink…yeah, he could use that.

After an inspection of the entire floor that resulted in nothing, Reno walked back down the stair to find Sephiroth waiting for him. "If anyone was here, they already disappeared," he stated to the SOLDIER.

"We were standing by the only door, which means they used an unnatural means of escape, such as a window, pointing away from them being innocent," Sephiroth replied, his tone somewhat bored, yet also irritated. Perhaps he had been expecting something…more.

"And Genesis…" Reno began.

Again, Sephiroth quickly cut him off. "Genesis could be completely unrelated. He was seen alone, after all. I will deal with that. As for the rebels – we have been thwarted twice. They will not be victorious a third time."

* * *

Author's Note :: Well, I hope that section was a bit more satisfying and a bit less confusing than last chapter! Thanks again for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note :: Please excuse the delay in getting this section typed – I figured it was probably best to wait until after I was done with university for the semester. But now as I sit on a boring afternoon with nothing else to do, I present the next section!

* * *

Chapter Three – Sephiroth Makes Friends (okay, that's not the real title, but Automailjunkie44 really wanted me to name the entire story that, so this is for her!)

~Friend

Sephiroth was irritated indeed, and was having a hard time hiding it. He couldn't believe that some common person had out-witted two SOLDIERs and two Turks. That and for some reason, Genesis being there didn't sit well with him, either. True, he was one of the few people he actually called his friend, but he really could think of no reason for him to be there. Sephiroth knew he himself would not be there if Genesis had not been sent by ShinRa, which made it even more puzzling. _Then again,_ he thought, _he does have the tendency to wander. Yes, that must be it._

"Reno, let's check the windows."

"Why, you think one of them is just hanging there waiting 'til we leave so they can use the door? Oh, and its _window_. There's only one. You know, in the main room with the candles." A true frown creased Sephiroth's face. The ginger-haired Turk looked alarmed, and behind him he head Kadaj whisper something along to lines of, 'See, I told you so' to Zack.

"Well, let's go see in any case. The ground is soft; he may have left a visible trail. Even if he didn't, there is always some clue as to who he is, and where he is headed. Now," Sephiroth's mobile rang, interrupting his issuing of orders. He considered ignoring it until he was it was the president himself. "Yes, sir?"

"Sephiroth, you need to hurry. Whoever these people are, they seem to have connections in Midgar. The sooner this group of radicals is eliminated, the better. Have you made any progress?"

Sephiroth didn't answer, and instead handed the phone to Reno. He knew it was a risky move, but he also had no desire to lie to the president about their progress. He knew Reno wouldn't lie, he would just…leave things out.

"Hey boss!" he heard Reno say as he took the phone, "Nah, nothing yet. The other two found someone suspicious but they let him get away…I didn't ditch him! I left him with a fully capable SOLDIER…No, sir, Second Class…Yes, sir, we'll find them, don't worry." Reno walked over, returned Sephiroth's mobile, and then walked back into the building in question.

Sephiroth noticed Kadaj followed, an expression similar to his own etched into every aspect of his face. Again, it hit him how eerily similar the boy was to himself. He found himself wondering about him, about his past. Not that he was the type to try to get to know someone, they normally just told him things, but he decided he was intrigued by this young Turk.

He turned, seeing Zack's shoulders shaking with silent laughter. "I know you have some serious skills, Sephiroth," the younger SOLDIER said, "but I don't think even you can open a door just by looking at it. Unless, of course, you've been hiding something from me."

Sephiroth actually snorted in amusement at that. He had told the younger SOLDIER nothing about himself, just as it should be. He knew quite a bit about Zack, but that he had heard from others. He knew they had learned it from his sometimes non-stop chatter, and his willingness to get along with all of his fellow ShinRa employees. "No, I have to physically push a door open just like everyone else. Although, I suppose some of us feel it's necessary to kick a door open instead." He watched as a slow blush crept into Zack's sheepish face.

As they entered the room, they saw Kadaj standing over a man, his double-bladed sword pressed into his neck hard enough that two very fine streams of blood were coursing down the captive's neck. Again, Sephiroth was surprised by the young Turk. The Turks were known for carrying Electro-Mag rods, and to see one with a sword was interesting. "Well, well, what have we here?" Sephiroth asked, his voice silky and all the more frightening for it.

"I found this one lurking under the window," said Reno, who Sephiroth noticed had a hand to his head. "Didn't seem to want to come back in and chat. Put up a pretty good fight about it, too."

"Who are you and why are you here?" Sephiroth asked, leaning down closer to the man's face.

"My name is of no consequence. As to my purpose, I was here to discuss poetry, nothing more."

Sephiroth looked at the man, taking in his appearance. His clothes were worn and his face was dirty. He smelled of campfires, dirt, and something Sephiroth couldn't quite place.

"Forgive me for saying this, but you don't seem the literary type. In fact, you don't seem the type to even know what poetry is. If you ask me, that seems to be a rather convenient excuse that was given to you. Tell me, what poetry were you discussing?"

Sephiroth looked up at Kadaj, surprised. Not only because he was implying Genesis has supplied the excuse, but also because he had said almost the exact words that had been in Sephiroth's head.

"I do not know the name. I only know the words."

"Then please, give us a quote," said Zack, finally stepping up to take part in the action.

"'Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess. We seek it thus, and take to the sky.'"

"LOVELESS," Sephiroth hissed, noticing Kadaj and Zack exchange a look. "What was that for?" he asked, trying to keep his self-control and not snap the man's neck.

"Well," Zack said slowly, "it's just that when we found Genesis here, that is one of the two things he quoted to us."

Now Sephiroth was almost worried. If Genesis was involved, things would get complicated fast. He looked at Reno and could see the same thoughts reflected in his face. "Release him," Sephiroth said to Kadaj, a plan starting to form. "Run back and tell your people that they can run, but they can't hide. Tell them we will find them, and when we do they'll wish they had never opposed ShinRa. So now, run as fast as your small rebel legs will carry you, and deliver my message."

Sephiroth watched the man scramble away from Kadaj and to his feet, sprinting out the door. He stood for a moment, taking in the main room. Yes, every aspect screamed of Genesis. He hadn't known about Genesis' place in Kalm, but he was sure there were many things he didn't know about his friend. "We'll follow him in the morning. He'll probably leave a trail a mile wide - well, it will seem a mile wide to those of us who can follow it." Sephiroth turned and exited the building, his thoughts dark and confused.

They returned to the bar in silence, their minds all occupied by the day's events. As expected, Reno went straight to the bar upon their arrival. Surprisingly, Zack followed the Turk, and Sephiroth rolled his eyes, knowing havoc would soon ensue. He watched the silver-haired Turk go up the stairs, only to return a few moments later without his sword, but adjusting a gun on his hip. He then exited, leaving the chaos within.

* * *

Kadaj paused outside, drawing a deep breath as he took in his surroundings. The town was starting to prepare for the night ahead, and things were becoming quieter. He began to wander, following where his feet and instinct were leading him. He passed the building they had discovered earlier, not giving it a second glance.

After what seemed a very short amount of time, he found himself in an unfamiliar part of town, a section filled with warehouses. Sensing nothing out of place, he continued. He didn't travel much further before he began to feel uncomfortable. Deciding that doing this alone was probably a bad idea, he turned, fully planning on returning to the others. He had only taken one step back when he found himself blocked by the same red-clad man as before. "Step aside," he said, infusing his voice with all the authority he could muster.

"Travelling unarmed does not seem to be the most intelligent thing to be doing. Though the name is Kalm, the times and this city are not."

"I am not unarmed. Now please, step aside. I feel no need for a conflict."

"Tell Sephiroth he may come, and we will be waiting. Also, that if he knew the truth, he would join us, not fight us. Tell him that try as he might, he will join us in the end. Let him know we will wait."

As quickly as he had come, the mysterious man disappeared. Kadaj quickly returned to the bar – not because he was frightened, but rather because he was excited to have a real reason to talk to Sephiroth, and perhaps gain his approval. In his haste, he almost crashed into someone in the bar's doorway. "Forgive me," he said, never looking at the man, but simply entering and seating himself beside Zack. "Where is Sephiroth? I need to speak to him," he asked Zack, noticing that both he and Reno were drinking nothing stronger than water. He grinned at the scowl on Reno's face.

"Can't even enjoy a drink with mister high and mighty SOLDIER around," Kadaj heard the redhead say to no one in particular. "Really could have used one after today, too."

Kadaj chuckled, then turned once again to the dark-haired SOLIDER. "He's upstairs," Zack slowly replied, "Said he didn't want to be bothered unless it was important."

"Trust me, this is important - well, I think it's important. Especially since it was that man you called 'Genesis' who told me to give him the message." He turned, walking away from Zack's shocked expression. He made his way slowly up the stairs, going over the message so he wouldn't forget any of it. He paused outside the door, wondering if he should really disturb the SOLDIER hero. As he raised his hand to knock, the door flew open, leaving him no choice in the matter.

~Me

Meanwhile, back at the bar, Reno was examining Zack's slightly shocked expression with mild curiosity. "Seems Genesis is more involved than you wanted to see before," the Turk observed.

"I have a hard time believing that he would be the mastermind behind any sort of rebel group against ShinRa," Zack admitted with a shrug before downing the rest of the water in his glass. "I mean, I had never really met him outside of an introduction, but he's a hero. How could he do something like that?"

"Heroes are hardly ever what they seem to be," Reno replied, unaware of the intense look he was receiving from Zack as he continued, "When the truth comes out, you always see they are not as glamorous as they first appeared."

"There are still heroes with honour, and dreams," Zack replied with a glare that turned to a determined look. "And I am going to prove that."

Reno scoffed into his drink, almost choking with amusement at Zack's comment. "By what, becoming one yourself?" Reno's tone clearly showed he had no confidence in that coming true.

Zack frowned at the Turk, though the determination still showed in his eyes. Becoming a hero in SOLDIER had always been Zack's greatest dream, and he had every intention of that dream becoming a reality. "You don't think I can do it?" he asked, his tone a bit darker than it normally was.

Reno looked sideways at Zack for a moment, a skeptical look on his face. "All I know is that you cannot be a hero in the sense that you are looking at it and ever make it anywhere in this world," he finally replied, letting out a deep breath as he spoke. "The world will laugh at you, and then screw you over, and in the end – it'll kill you."

"I'm sorry that you see it that way," Zack replied very softly, keeping his eyes focused straight ahead as he absently tapped his empty glass off the wood of the bar. "But I still disagree. I mean, Sephiroth is a true hero."

Reno shook his head in disbelief at what he saw as extreme naivety on the boy's part. "And just how well do you know Sephiroth?" he then asked, really wishing he had a stronger drink, "I mean, _really _know him?"

Zack stood up from his seat then, pushing away from the bar. The fact that it was true that he knew little about his 'partner' other than what everyone knew about him was not something he appreciated Reno pointing out – especially in the context of what they were discussing. Reno had no right pointing out Zack's general inexperience and lower rank, because that was what Zack felt the other was doing, and he also did not appreciate having one of his role models questioned like that.

"I can't expect you to understand – you're a Turk," Zack stated defensively, though Reno kept his back to the SOLDIER. "You have no concept of honour." With that, he turned and left the bar, deciding to feed his curiosity of what Kadaj had needed to tell Sephiroth.

"If I were someone else, I might be offended by that statement," Reno said to no one in particular as he listened to Zack's receding footsteps. He was a bit surprised that his comments had seemed to get under the skin of someone like Zack, but he did not care about the situation enough to give it any more thought than that.

Zack realized as he headed up the stairs that he was feeling more fatigued than he had noticed before in the excitement, so he turned in the direction of his room. Besides, he needed to calm down – he rarely made statements like the one he had just said to Reno, and now he felt a bit guilty, even if it was pretty close to the truth. Still, he did not want the Turk on his bad side. Either way, laying down for a bit certainly had a strong appeal to him.

When Zack entered the room, he saw Kadaj already there, laying on his own bed and staring at the ceiling. He barely twitched when Zack opened the door. "What did you have to tell Sephiroth?" Zack asked curiously, his mind wasting no time in quickly jumping subjects now that a more tantalizing one was present. "You saw Genesis again?" Zack then continued before Kadaj could answer the first question. He sat heavily down on the foot of Kadaj's bed cross-legged, watching the silver-haired Turk expectantly.

Kadaj appeared to have mixed feelings about Zack's proximity – though the SOLDIER himself did not notice – but replied with an obvious level of satisfaction, "Yeah, I did – he told me Sephiroth would join him if he understood, and that they would wait for him."

Zack's mako-blue eyes grew wide. "So he really is part of the resistance?" he asked, his tone sounding like that of a disappointed child.

Kadaj chuckled a bit in response. "Either that, or the rebels are unconnected and we just stumbled upon Genesis' scheme by chance – though that seems highly unlikely, especially seeing as we are in Kalm."

Zack's eyebrows scrunched together in thought – why was Kadaj laughing and sounding so pleased? Was it just because he was right? He clearly did not understand what this information meant to Zack. "What did Sephiroth say?" he then asked slowly, "You know, when you told him."

At that, Kadaj's expression fell a bit in a slightly disappointed look himself. "He was rather emotionless about it, really – though he seemed to be thinking pretty hard. He just said, 'I see,' after a lot of silence, and then told me to get some rest for the night – hence me being here now."

"Genesis is his friend," Zack replied pointedly, "I doubt that made him very happy – but he never shows more than he really has to…emotionally, I mean."

"You don't have to tell me what I already know," Kadaj replied quickly, and rather coldly. Zack was noticing me and more that Kadaj seemed generally touchy on the subject of Sephiroth, and wanting to please the SOLDIER more than his fellow Turk. Zack could see similarities between Kadaj and Sephiroth – more than the obvious physical similarities, even – so he wondered if perhaps that had something to do with it. It seemed there was more to that story than perhaps any of them knew. Or Sephiroth knew and was just remaining silent about it – that would not surprise Zack, either.

"Sephiroth was right, we should get some rest," Zack offered a bit more brightly – he was tired of arguing with everyone, and he was physically tired as well. Besides, based on his previous thoughts, Kadaj was probably likely to listen to advice from Sephiroth. He jumped up from the bed, and heard Kadaj sigh (was it in relief? That was odd) before falling heavily onto his own bed. He didn't even remember falling asleep.

* * *

Reno grew bored with nothing more than water in the bar, and followed Zack's example of heading upstairs not long after the boy. When he reached the door to his room, he paused with his hand on the door knob. Should he…knock, perhaps? He assumed Sephiroth was in there, and Reno was not certain he wanted to unexpectedly barge in on the other man. What did Sephiroth even do in his spare time, anyway…?

Reno then blinked a few times, shaking his head. What was he even thinking? Debating whether he should knock before entering his own room? What did he even care? Just as he was about to open the door, the door knob was suddenly ripped from his hand as the door opened inward, causing the Turk to stumble forward in a mix between alarm and just a loss of balance. He recovered to find himself staring into a set of rather intense green eyes – mako eyes, to be exact.

"What are you doing?" Sephiroth's voice was less than amused.

Reno casually brushed off his shirt, fighting a loosing battle at smoothing out the permanent wrinkles. "Just coming in for the night," he stated, his tone casual as well – both the knocking debate and the stumble had been erased from his personal history.

Sephiroth stared at Reno for a few more moments, obviously knowing something else had been up, but decided that considering the source was the ginger Turk he really did not care to know. He stood aside to allow Reno to enter, his expression stoic, before stating, "Tomorrow we find Genesis."

"So he is involved after all," Reno stated with general disinterest, shrugging off his suit jacket and dropping it to the floor, glancing around the room. It was very basic – nothing to amuse even someone easily distracted…until his eyes fell on a strange portrait near the window. Was that a dog, or a…small chocobo, maybe? Perhaps it was even just a far man…

"You're not listening."

Reno glanced back at Sephiroth quickly when he heard that statement, though he somehow did not feel guilty. "I heard enough – Genesis is involved," Reno replied, waving a hand dismissively at this 'room mate.' Really, the last way he wanted to spend the night was discussing their current situation. Especially because eventually, it would all come back to the helicopter – or lack there of – and he did not feel like being angry again. It took too much effort.

"I said that we will see about the full truth tomorrow," Sephiroth stated, and Reno noted the impatience in his voice. He really did not want to push the SOLDIER any further, so he just nodded in response. Tomorrow they would indeed learn more – or at least attempt to. Reno had heard from many people that Genesis was notorious for saying everything in the most indirect way, which could get frustrating very quickly. That was, if they could even find him.

* * *

Author's Note :: Well, thus completes Chapter Three [Sephiroth Makes Friends]. Perhaps not advancing the plot itself too terribly much, but we love character development. Should not be too long of a wait for the next chapter, as long as people want it!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note :: And thus, the plot thickens…enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Four

~Friend

Kadaj was relieved when the SOLDIER left the edge of his bed. He didn't know why, but his 'room mate's' constant energy and questioning made him uncomfortable. He got up, crossing the room in long strides, hoping to get to the door before Zack could say anything to him. He was almost that lucky.

"Hey, were are you go—" Kadaj shut the door behind him, cutting Zack's question off – seemed the other man had woken up from his light sleep when Kadaj had stood up. He walked down the stairs and outside, sitting on a bench by the door. He really didn't sleep much. He had never really had to. That was something he never understood about himself. He knew that everyone had to sleep, and yet he didn't. It bothered him because it almost made him feel less human than everyone else.

"Can't sleep?"

It wasn't the question that ripped him from his thoughts so much as the voice. "Not really. I don't think I've ever slept," Kadaj replied, attempting humour but finding only regret and irritation in his tone. "I suppose I'm just one of the lucky few who doesn't need to."

"It's true, there aren't many of us, but I wouldn't say lucky." Kadaj glanced at Sephiroth, who was staring at the sky, lost in his own thoughts.

"So," Kadaj asked hesitantly, "the rumours are true? You really don't sleep? What do you do, then?" Even was the last question left his lips, he wished he could take it back. He knew very little about Sephiroth, like everyone else, and the fact that the SOLDIER had confided in him he didn't sleep was monumental. He knew that asking such a personal question was pushing it, especially since he was a Turk. "I'm sorry, sometimes my mouth runs away with me. I suppose that's why Reno and I can't seem to get along. Please forgive me."

Kadaj stood and made his way back inside and up to his room. He kicked himself mentally the whole way, not wanting to believe he had just let his mouth take over his mind in front of the man he admired the most.

"You're still up?" he asked as he entered his room, surprised to see Zack still awake.

"Yeah, well, you're not the only one with things on your mind, you know," the SOLDIER replied, not unkindly.

"Oh?" Kadaj asked, curious to know what could possibly bother the other man. "What could possibly be bothering you?"

"Well, it's the whole Genesis thing…"

Kadaj rolled his eyes, half expecting that response. "Of course that bothers you. He's clearly someone you revere as a hero. I would be a bit surprised too if m hero turned out to be one of the bad guys – and not just one of them, either, but the man in charge." He sat on the edge of Zack's bed, copying the SOLDIER's earlier action.

"It's not so much his involvement as Sephiroth's reaction."

"You said he normally took things in that manner."

"Yeah, but you said so yourself – you would react at least a bit of someone you were close to was trying to kill you."

"Actually," corrected Kadaj, "he's trying to get Sephiroth to join their cause. So don't worry, they just want to kill the rest of us. Sleep well! I'm sure morning will come sooner than either of us would like." With that, Kadaj crossed over to his own bed once more.

He placed his sword beside him, cradling Velvet Nightmare in his arms. He never rested without his weapons either on him, or close enough to grab without having to reach more than a few inches.

He lay awake, listening as Zack's breathing became slower and deeper as he fell asleep once more. Kadaj looked up at the now dark ceiling. Thoughts raced through his mind so quickly half went unrecognized and forgotten.

Sephiroth sat under the stars for a while, pondering the events of the day. He thought about Genesis' warning, and wondered if that was what it even was. The longer he went over the message in his mind, the more it seemed like a promise or an invitation. This worried him more than a threat or a warning.

He could not help but wonder what Genesis knew that he did not. This was what worried him the most. He knew that it would have to be something truly significant to turn his fellow SOLDIER against the company that supported them. He spent the night pondering many things, all of them making him realize how serious the situation really was.

"What time did you get up?" Reno asked, an amazed look on his face when he found Sephiroth already downstairs in the morning.

"Early," he replied, giving Kadaj a small smile that the young Turk returned uncertainly. Sephiroth turned back to Reno, "I've asked them to add more art and such to our room to accommodate your short attention span. Now, once you have all had something to eat, meet me outside. We need to get started and finished with all of this madness." He turned and left, leaving a sputtering Reno, chuckling Zack, and smirking Kadaj in his wake.

Once they got started, the 'terrorist' group was easy enough to find. They were a short distance from the town, clearly not involving those who were blindly loyal to ShinRa. The four spent the morning observing their camp. Clearly the rebels were well equipped, and had a knowledgeable leader. Though they could see no such leader, the way the camp moved and was organized made it obvious it was run by someone with military experience. Though Sephiroth's face was held in an expression of calm, and though the rest tried to hide it, their worry filled the air around them.

After what seemed like days, even if it was only a few hours, Sephiroth stood and began to walk determinedly towards the 'entrance' of the camp. As they knocked the guards out of the way, it seemed every head turned in their direction. About halfway through the camp they stopped, turning to face a structure surrounded by armed men – armed soldiers to be exact. At seeing Sephiroth in the company of Turks, their eyebrows raised, but they stood a litter straighter none the less.

"Let me speak with Genesis. Don't worry, he's expecting me, since I am here on his invitation," Sephiroth stated.

"I'm sorry sir, but he's not here," replied the young soldier, clearly still an infantryman.

"Not here?" Sephiroth asked, his voice calm but infused with menace.

"N-n-no, sir," the man stuttered.

"Then where is he?" Kadaj asked, slowly walking forward, gun in hand. "He told me to bring Sephiroth here. He knew we would come, he said it himself."

"Yes, he knew you would come, but he had to return to Midgar. Keeping up the appearance that he is loyal is essential to success."

"Yet you stay here?"

"We are but infantrymen. There are so many of us that a few won't be missed."

Kadaj let out a low hiss and walked away, leaving the others to deal with things. He knew that if he allowed the conversation to continue he would do something rash. He didn't feel opening a battle with the rebels would be the best way to impress Sephiroth. After calming down for a few moments, he returned to the other three.

"Then we shall wait. Spread the word we are not to be attacked. I don't think Genesis would be too pleased to return to a dead camp." Several of the men around them chuckled, clearly taking Sephiroth's command as a joke. They stopped abruptly as the four drew their weapons and went to an open area to sit and wait.

They were an odd quartet. Reno was lounging quite comfortably while his fellow Turk paced, his mind clearly working rapidly. Zack sat almost uneasily on the edge of a crate. However, Sephiroth, like Reno, did not seem to be too bothered by their situation. He stood a short distance from the others, his back to everything as he stared out across the land.

"I wonder what he makes of this whole situation," Kadaj wondered aloud.

"Like he would tell you," Reno said, "He never lets anyone in on his thoughts. Even if it is important, he always tells you at the last second."

"That's not true!" Zack half-yelled, "If it was important, he would let us know. He just doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve like some other people."

"Pfft. Wearing your heart on your sleeve requires having a heart," Reno said, shifting to a more comfortable position.

"Which I take means you are speaking from personal experience. I mean, everyone knows Turks have no heart, or soul..."

"That's enough. I suggest the three of you start to get along. Somehow I get the feeling we're going to be stuck together for quite a while," Sephiroth turned his back to them once more, this time facing the entrance of the camp.

"I'm sorry sir. I shouldn't have ris—" Sephiroth held up his hand, cutting Zack off before he got started on a long self-abusing apology. Then he noticed the commotion at the entrance.

"Genesis is back." He couldn't help but smile as he saw the younger SOLDIER jump to his feet out of the corner of his eye.

"You came," Genesis' soft voice interrupted his amusement. "Let's talk. Please, all of you, come with me."

~Me (because I love Genesis, heh)

Once the four had entered the main structure following Genesis, he halted, holding up a gloved hand to have everyone do the same. Genesis then glanced slightly back over his shoulder, a hint of a smirk on his face, before speaking. "Such odd company you keep these days, Sephiroth," he said, his voice low. "I never imagined to find you with two Turks and Angeal's puppy."

As Zack's mouth immediately flew open to protest in some way, Reno had his hand over it, clearly anticipating the boy's reaction. He gave Sephiroth a knowing look, as if to say something along the lines of, 'See? Not only am I at least paying attention somewhat, I can be quite useful when absolutely necessary.' Sephiroth's expression did not change, however, as his eyes remained focused on Genesis. "Had your little band of infidels not acted as they did you would not have found me like this."

Genesis responded by laughing very drying before replying with, "Oh, Sephiroth – for once, you only see the cover of what is in reality quite a thick book." He paused, and then slowly turned to face the group fully. "If you wish to discover more of the plot, then come and speak to me alone. It is not the business of these ShinRa lapdogs, nor the young SOLDIER."

Although Reno took the comment casually, still doing nothing but standing with a smug expression on his face and absently twirling his EMR, Zack and Kadaj both looked personally offended – but for once, remained silent. "You speak as though I have a choice," Sephiroth was the one to reply, his voice still level as he took a few steps closer to Genesis to show he planned to take the other man's offer. As he began to follow Genesis away from the group, he looked over his shoulder for a moment.

Reno read the subtle expression on his face and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, I'll watch the kids," he replied, not even trying to mask the annoyance in his tone – not because he wanted to hear what was going on so much as because he once again felt like he was baby-sitting or something. "Go play with your friend or whatever." He waved his hand dismissively before dropping to sit on the ground – a movement that Zack and Kadaj soon mimicked, though with much more disappointment.

Genesis led Sephiroth away from the others, to the upper level of the structure, completely silent until they arrived. It ended up being Sephiroth that broke the silence. "I think you have much to tell me, my old friend," Sephiroth stated calmly, his gaze fixed on Genesis' back, "Even for you this is all rather outlandish."

"Perhaps not as much as you believe it to be," Genesis replied, his voice just as calm and steady as the other man's. "We have been so…naïve, Sephiroth. Blind to the truth – all these years."

"The truth?" Sephiroth prompted – he knew if he did not engage the conversation himself Genesis would either remain silent, or speak a lot without making any real point anyone but himself could ever decipher, which was even worse in Sephiroth's opinion.

Genesis responded by laughing a bit dryly once more, shaking his head as though what he said should have been obvious. He walked slowly away from Sephiroth towards a small window, stopping before it with his hands folded behind his back. "What do you remember about your parents?" he finally asked, still not turning to face the other man.

Sephiroth scowled darkly at his back, taking a few threatening steps forward. "I fail to see how that is connected," he stated, quickly pushing aside the name that had flashed in his mind before he could stop it at Genesis' words.

"I remember mine," Genesis spoke as though Sephiroth had said nothing, leaning his forehead gently against the glass of the window. "Or rather, I remember the people that raised me. They were wealthy land owners in Banora – the man was highly respected by ShinRa. But they were…not my parents. I was not a product of the woman I called my mother. They were…stand-ins, I suppose you could call them. And I believed their lies and cover-ups all these years," Genesis stopped, placing one of his hands against the window near his head, and closed his eyes.

There was another long silence between them in which Genesis seemed lost in his own thoughts and Sephiroth stared at his back, unamused. He did not see what any of this had to do with a full revolt against an organization as large and powerful as ShinRa – especially from someone like Genesis. "…and?" he then prompted again, a twinge of impatience creeping into his voice – Sephiroth hated wasting time for anything.

Genesis remained silent for a few moments longer before taking the other man's cue. "You probably do not know this," he began again, his voice now sounding somewhat amused, "but ShinRa has been suspicious of me for a little while now, though they are trying to be subtle about it and not cause any…chaos."

Sephiroth let out an audible deep breath, crossing his arms irritably. It seemed that, as usual, Genesis was going to bring up as many small, irrelevant points as he wanted before making the big point that was the reason a conversation had been initiated. Sephiroth knew that there was no real rushing the other man, and he would just have to listen.

"As I expected," Genesis continued, ignoring Sephiroth's sigh completely, "They went to my parents to ask questions about me." Sephiroth was impressed that Genesis had related the two subjects together so quickly that he remained respectfully silent when Genesis paused again. "They claimed to have said nothing, but why should I believe that? All they ever did was lie to me," Genesis said, his voice low as he opened his eyes once more, though his gaze was averted downwards. "They are much more loyal to ShinRa. I was certain they betrayed me."

With his last words, Genesis pulled away the hand he had placed on the window for only a moment before slamming it back o the glass with a rare display of violent emotion. He then took a deep breath, clearly calming himself down again, before finally turning to face Sephiroth – though his eyes remained averted. "Ripples form on the water's surface," he then said in a soft voice, "The wandering soul knows no rest."

"Genesis," Sephiroth simply said the other man's name, but his tone showed it was in a threatening way. He did not want another answer in the form of a quote from LOVELESS – that was satisfying to Genesis alone.

At long last, Genesis' blue eyes finally met and locked on to Sephiroth's green ones. The very corners of Genesis' mouth were turned up in a slight smile, though his eyes flashed, betraying the strength of the inner emotions he was mostly hiding. "I killed my parents, Sephiroth," Genesis then replied – his words could not have been more precise, "And two Turks that were with them. All ShinRa lapdogs – and they all deserved to die."

"Genesis!" This time, the name was an exclamation by Sephiroth, and he quickly closed the short distance between the two men, leaving mere centimetres between them. "Even if you were raised by people other than your biological parents, and even if they were connected to ShinRa, you have little excuse for that rash action – or what you are doing here, for that matter!"

Genesis laughed dryly for the third time at Sephiroth's words. "My friend, you still see only the cover of the book. The real plot has yet to reveal itself."

"Then keep talking," Sephiroth replied, and though he was calm once more on the outside, there was no mistaking the anger behind his bright eyes.

Genesis' somewhat satisfied expression faded, and he broke his gaze with the other man once more. "We are…_monsters_, Sephiroth. You are. I am. And even—"

Genesis' words were cut off as the door to the room was suddenly flung open, and Zack came rushing inside. Both of the older men looked less than pleased as his 'timely' entrance, but Zack did not seem to notice. "Sephiroth!" he exclaimed, running up to the silver-haired man, "Kalm is under attack!" He flailed his arms a bit before finally pointing in the general direction of the town rather unnecessarily.

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed and he turned back to Genesis. "This had better not be your doing, Genesis," he said darkly, drawing his Masumane and pointing it threateningly at the other man.

"Or what, Sephiroth?" Genesis asked calmly, his gaze staring down the length of the blade, "Are you going to kill me?" He then backed up a few steps, moving a safe distance away from the weapon and the man wielding it before continuing. "I know nothing about this attack. But you still have much to discover, Sephiroth. Search for the truth rather than blindly following ShinRa's lies."

"This is not over, Genesis," Sephiroth replied, ignoring Zack who stood beside him impatiently and restlessly twitching.

"It is for now. I will find you when you are ready to understand more," Genesis replied, turning his back and gazing out another window in the direction of Kalm. "Wings of light and darkness spread afar…"

Sephiroth and Zack did not stay to hear any more, instead exiting the room and heading down the stairwell. "Reno went outside for a bit and discovered the attack," Zack excitedly filled Sephiroth in on the situation as he ran after the older SOLDIER, "He and Kadaj went on ahead, but I had to come and get you. Reno said that he did not see anyone from the camp leave, so if they are connected, then the attacking group was not here, and—"

Sephiroth suddenly stopped, spinning around to face Zack, who almost physically ran into him. "Zack, focus," he said calmly, though his tone was very serious. "This is not a game." With that, he turned and swiftly set off once more, satisfied to hear only silence behind him.

* * *

As Reno and Kadaj ran across the flat land back towards Kalm, the distinct sound of gunshots ringing in the air, suddenly the sound of a mobile phone ring added to the chaotic noise. Kadaj glanced at Reno, who had a very annoyed look as he pulled the device from his pocket, flipping it open and holding it to his ear. "No offense, but this is pretty bad timing," he said in the mobile.

"What is the situation in Kalm?" Reno hated how Tseng always managed to sound so unenthused.

"Not good, but we're on our way to stabilize things now," Reno replied, matching Tseng's tone with his own disinterested one.

"All of you?" Tseng asked after a short silence.

"Kadaj and I," Reno corrected, glancing at the other Turk for a moment before continuing, "The SOLDIERs got wrapped up in SOLDIER business, but we can handle it."

"Reno, don't—"

"Sorry boss, gotta take care of business," Reno cut off Tseng as they arrived at the town, gratefully snapping the mobile shut. He glanced at the general state of chaos the town was in before letting out a heavy sigh. "I knew I should have called off sick yesterday…let's just get this over with."

* * *

Author's Note :: For the record – I love writing as Genesis. It's only a matter of time before I write an entire story centred just on him. Anyway, one more chapter left after this one – I'm getting lots of hits, which is awesome, but I love reviews too! Have to keep my Zack-sized ego inflated somehow, after all…


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note :: Remember how I said this was the last chapter? That was a lie, because we've picked up the purple notebook once more, and the insanity shall continue. I hope that that is considered good news by our readers rather than bad…

* * *

Chapter Five

~Friend

Sephiroth was distracted the whole trip. He somehow managed to block out Zack's non-stop chatter on the way back to Kalm, much to his disappointment – Zack's, that is, not Sephiroth's.

The fight was easy enough to find. Reno's red hair stuck out like a sore thumb, and Kadaj had a pile of bodies building around him so quickly only the occasional flash of his sword or silver hair was visible. Sephiroth kept his distance for a while, observing the battle. A small grin crossed his face as Zack rushed in, his face alight with excitement. His grin became wider as he recalled Genesis' comparison of the young soldier to a puppy. However, upon thinking of his friend again, the smile abruptly disappeared.

He heard Reno yell something about not needing any help, and that the two Turks were doing just fine on their own. Both Turks looked around in confusion when all the fight suddenly left their opponents.

"Way to ruin it!" Reno yelled, though it wasn't convincing since he had a grin on his face.

"I'm sorry, but these are all members of SOLDIER. They may only be Third Class, poorly trained, but they are SOLDIER none the less." Sephiroth saw Zack look down at his sword, an extreme look of relief crossing his face when he realized there was no blood on it. "SOLDIER," Sephiroth then asked the man standing nearest him, "What is the meaning of this?"

"We were gathered, told that Kalm was planning an attack on ShinRa, and that we were being sent to eliminate the problem."

"Funny, you've missed the problem altogether. Now, go home. We've got handle on things here. That's an order, SOLDIER," Sephiroth was lost in thought as his fellow ShinRa employees began to retreat, heading back towards Midgar. He knew that he had a list of people he needed to talk to, the president and Genesis being at the top.

"Well," he said, turning to Reno and Kadaj, "since you two can handle things here by yourselves, we'll leave you to it."

"Fine," Kadaj said shortly.

"Yeah, and tell ShinRa to send us another helicopter. I'm not too big on the idea of walking all the way back to Midgar. Plus, that way it'll be easier to keep an eye on the rookie," Reno added.

"Yeah? Well, it's just convenient because it means you don't have to walk your lazy butt home," Kadaj snapped back. He really didn't appreciate being called a rookie. The fact that it was coming from Reno made it understandable, but still not acceptable.

"I'll make sure one gets here. I suggest you not cause any more trouble than there is already by keeping your mouth shut. I know that's difficult, but please do try. I'm sure we'll se the two of you again soon," Sephiroth turned and walked away, leaving a sputtering Reno in his wake.

Kadaj watched the two SOLDIERs walk away with mixed emotions. In a way, he was relieved that he no longer had anyone he needed to impress, yet he was sad to see them go. Sephiroth had a way of getting under Reno's skin that was admirable. If anything, the short time spent in his company had made Kadaj admire the General even more.

"Hellooo…are you still with me, rookie?" Reno asked him, waving a hand in front of Kadaj's face.

"Unfortunately," Kadaj replied, managing to keep this temper in check for once.

"Good, because I would hate to think what would happen if a rookie lost his mind on my watch. They probably wouldn't let me baby-sit anymore. Hey," realization dawned on Reno's face even as he spoke, "Maybe you _should _pretend to lose your mind. I hate this part of the job."

"Sorry, the only lost mind here is yours," Kadaj replied. He smirked as a thought then hit him. "Then again, it's hard to lose something you never had." He walked away leaving a thoroughly angry Reno behind him.

"Come back here and say that to my face!"

"I thought I just did. Besides, you don't want to fight me. How would you explain to your boss that you lost to a rookie?" Kadaj returned to the inn, ending the argument.

Somewhere in the back of his mind it occurred to him he probably shouldn't antagonize the older Turk. He wondered what would happen to him upon their return to Midgar. Would they give him a partner? Would he be stuck in the ShinRa building? He sat in his room, his mind going over many things, both possible and not so easily achieved.

"Alright Kadaj, get out here!" yelled Reno, pounding on his door, "If they want me to bring you back there's a few things we need to talk about."

Kadaj opened the door and followed Reno down to the bar. "Okay, talk," Reno said, motioning the bartender away.

"Perhaps if I knew what you wanted to hear I could reply," Kadaj said, arranging his face into the look of calm disinterest Sephiroth so often had.

"Why are you the way you are? Did your parents beat you as a kid?"

"I don't remember my parents. I don't even know if I have them. My earliest memory is of ShinRa and the scientific labs there. If you must know, that's why I'm so disappointed to be a Turk. They told me they were raising me to be in SOLDIER, to be the best. To be like Sephiroth," Kadaj added in an undertone. He turned and looked at Reno, who for once had nothing to say. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get some rest." He returned to his room, leaving Reno at the bar with his thoughts.

* * *

Sephiroth was even quieter than normal on the trip back to Midgar. He could see that his silence was making Zack uneasy, but said nothing to reassure him. In all honesty he didn't know what to say. Monsters, monsters, how the word confused him. Both he and Genesis were men, nothing unusual to earn such a description. Yet, the word repeated itself in Sephiroth's mind, each time making him a little more unsure. He betrayed none of this in his expression, not wanting to alarm his companion any further.

"So, did you find anything out from Genesis?" Zack asked, clearly trying to draw Sephiroth out of his thoughts.

"I found out many things, but nothing at the same time. I found out things I will never disclose. I wouldn't want to ruin how people see him."

"Did you ever find out what if was he felt you needed to know so badly?"

"With Genesis, you rarely get to the point. There is too much poetry, too many irrelevancies. When he feels it's truly important for me to know the truth, he will tell me."

"Yeah, I've heard he quotes a lot of poetry."

"Not just any poetry – LOVELESS. I don't have the patience for it. Though he is an old friend, I sometimes find it difficult to have a conversation with him." The tone of Sephiroth's voice indicated the conversation was at an end, and the two SOLDIERs fell into a much easier silence. At some point Zack opened his mouth as if to speak, and then seemed to think better of it.

When they reached the ShinRa building, Zack stopped on the SOLDIER floor while Sephiroth continued on to the president's office. As he approached, he noticed a lone Turk beside the door that he recognized as Tseng.

"I need to speak with the president." Tseng looked at him for a moment before calmly telling him the president was busy. Sephiroth nodded, making it clear he would wait. Tseng called the office, letting them know the General was waiting.

"You were with Reno, weren't you," the Turk made it sound more like a statement than a question.

"Yes, and you'll be pleased to know he hasn't even attempted to kill Kadaj yet. Although that was when I left…who knows what may have happened since then." As Tseng was about to reply, the office door opened and President ShinRa appeared, motioning Sephiroth inside. "Sir, Kalm was attacked by a platoon of SOLDIER. What do you know about this?"

"No more than you, except that they were supposed to be under the command of Genesis," the President replied, emotionlessly.

Immediately Sephiroth's suspicion rose. "Genesis has nothing against the people of Kalm. He has no reason to have his men attack. Besides, he had no way of commanding them, nor did he have the time. I was speaking with him when the attack started. He had no opportunity to give the command." He saw the President's calm expression flicker, betraying a mix of triumph, fear, and irritation. "Sir, is everything alright? You seem troubled."

"I see no reason not to tell you. Perhaps you can even help. We think Genesis is the one in charge of the anti-ShinRa faction. If he is, it requires immediate action and most likely, his elimination."

Sephiroth knew the President was watching his expression for any change in the stoic look, and he managed to keep it neutral. "That's too bad. I'm sorry I don't have information to help you in your quest."

"You said you saw Genesis in Kalm."

"Yes, we met for a drink as friends sometimes do. Again, I'm sorry I don't have information for you. Maybe when you can explain the attack by SOLDIER, I will have some." He stood, exiting the office before anything else could be said.

~Me

Upon reentering the SOLDIER floor, Zack's eyes immediately began to search the area for someone familiar, waves of excitement still pulsing through his body from the events of the past day or so. Even though he had not been in much of an actual fight, he had still been in a few exciting situations and had done a mission with Sephiroth – he wanted nothing more than to tell someone else.

"I see you made it back at least."

Zack had been so focused looking in front of him that he had not even noticed the lift opening behind him and someone emerging until the voice startled him. The shocked feeling only lasted about a nanosecond, however, because he instantly recognized the voice. Zack quickly spun around, his mako-blue eyes wide and playfully shining. "Angeal!" he first exclaimed in recognition before resting his hands on his hips in his most confident pose. "I always make it back – you sound surprised."

Angeal had a faint smile on his face, and he just shook his head at Zack's words. "That's not a safe attitude to develop," he then replied calmly, always willing to give Zack a patient lesson whenever the chance presented itself. "When you become over confident in your own abilities it becomes impossible to see your weaknesses."

Zack let out a loud breath at Angeal's words, blowing his bangs up in the air for a moment with the action. Angeal never failed to have some reply like that for him that he would probably get more out of if he would only give it a few moments of extra thought later – but Zack lived in the present rather whole-heartedly, so that rarely happened. "Yeah, probably," ended up being Zack's mumbled reply, which sparked purely from wanting Angeal to be satisfied rather than an actual agreement with the statement itself. "But anyway…how did you know where I went?" Zack's curiosity quickly took precedence.

"I get suspicious when you disappear for long amounts of time, so I took the liberty of finding out if you were doing something legitimate. Did you uncover the faction?"

Zack's typical grin faded slightly, and his arms fell to his sides as he swung them about absently. Angeal was very well informed – perhaps he should have suspected as much. "Not exactly," he then slowly replied. He did not like that his sounded so close to admitting failure, so he quickly continued. "We did find Genesis there, however, though you will have to talk to Sephiroth to find out those details – he was being pretty quiet about everything."

Angeal's face instantly turned to one of confusion. "Genesis?" he repeated, running his hand back through his sleek hair, "I think I will find Sephiroth."

"But I want to—" Zack jumped towards Angeal as he began to argue, but was quickly stopped by the other man's hand in his face.

"Not now, Zack. This has urgency," Angeal's tone was flat, and his face serious. He turned back and reentered the life behind him, offering Zack a curt nod as the doors sealed between them.

"But I don't understand," Zack said to the cold metal doors in frustration as he clenched his fists. He hated not being trusted with information – especially when it dealt with a situation he had been involved in. Both Angeal and Sephiroth had an air of seriousness surrounding the Genesis situation, and Zack eagerly wanted to know more. "This really isn't fair," he then mumbled to himself, turning and stalking away from the lifts in search of someone else to talk to.

* * *

Reno was relieved when the helicopter touched the landing pad at the ShinRa building once more. He quickly jumped from it, not waiting for Kadaj or the technician that had flown the machine to Kalm to follow as he headed for the door into the building. The mission had been more frustrating than anything else, and although Reno had enjoyed the chance to bash a few SOLDIERs there near the end with his EMR, all he wanted to do was give his report and go get a drink.

As Reno approached the door of the President's office, he saw Tseng standing watch outside. The other man's expression did not change as Reno approached him. "Sephiroth already told Sir most of what happened from what I gather," Tseng did speak when Reno stopped before him. He heard another set of feet stop shortly afterwards behind him, and he assumed the source to be Kadaj.

"Looks like he took my job," Reno stated with sarcastic sadness before his typical cool tone returned. "Do I still need to report anything?"

"I doubt it."

"Good," the word was drawn out a bit as a smirk spread across Reno's face, "Where's Rude, then?" As he asked the second question he pulled out a cigarette, balancing it from the corner of his mouth.

"He left a little bit ago – you could always try calling him rather than relying on me for his whereabouts." Tseng's voice remained very flat.

"I have to use you for something, Tseng," Reno replied smoothly, lighting the cigarette.

"Don't smoke in here." Still, Tseng's voice and face did not change – Reno was slightly impressed.

"Right," the redhead replied, again drawing the word out as he let out the first bit of smoke from his mouth and turned from Tseng, headed for the lift. "I'm leaving," he stated unnecessarily.

"I mean it," he heard Tseng's voice behind him, as well as the footsteps once more.

"I always smoke in here," Reno simply muttered, completely unconcerned as he took another long draw as he pressed the button for the lift, "Fire me." He knew that was extremely unlikely, and he stepped into the lift when the doors opened.

"Out of curiosity, where are you going?" Kadaj asked as he followed Reno into the lift, a rather stoic expression on his face as well.

Reno shook his head – what was with all these emotionless people? – before pressing the button for the lobby many floors below them. "I think I earned myself a drink," he then replied with a glance towards the younger man as he dropped the cigarette to the floor and smashed it under the toe of his boot very deliberately. "You did, too," he then continued, "Just…not with me." He scoffed for a moment to himself before exiting the lift when the doors opened again, his hand already reaching for his mobile to locate Rude. He only hoped his friend was a step ahead of him on the drinks.

~Friend

Kadaj stood for a moment, debating on if he wanted to follow Reno or not. Tseng had not told him to stop, and he hadn't heard him relieve Reno of his 'baby sitting' duties. After a short internal debate he decided he would rather face an angry Reno than an angry Tseng. At least Reno would be amusing when he unleashed his anger. Tseng, well, in all honesty…Kadaj was slightly afraid of him.

He kept his distance, and when Reno entered the bar, he sat at a table as far as possible from his red-haired partner and his bald companion. As he sat, he sighed. "Three…two…one…"

"What are you doing here?! I thought I told you to stay there! I told you not to follow me! Go back right now!"

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't told I was allowed to go off on my own, and as far as I know neither were you. In fact, I think I'm your partner until notified otherwise." Kadaj expected a violent reaction, but instead Reno just smirked.

"I'm sitting across from my partner, kid. As far as I'm concerned, you can do whatever you want. They'll find you someone eventually."

Kadaj stood stunned for a moment, letting the words sink in, then released a low growl and exited the bar. As he left, he heard Rude say something to Reno, but did not try to figure out what had been said. He stormed through the streets, knocking everyone who dared to get in his way out of it. His fury radiated off of him, and stopped only when he heard a challenge shouted at him.

"Oi! You think you can shove me and just walk away? No one can do that! Not even Mr. High-and-Mighty-Sephiroth would get away with that!"

"Oh, really?" Kadaj said, "Well, let's see how well you can defend that claim." He knew his sword, watching with pleasure as the man's eyes widened in fear.

"I meant no disrespect sir, but you caught me off-guard. Please, let me go, please…"

Kadaj stopped short. Did this man think he was his hero? He waved him away, turning and continuing on in his previous direction with no thought as to his destination. Upon entering the ShinRa building he sighed, found a seat, and sat waiting for someone to say something or for something to happen. He was rewarded – or cursed – in a way he did not expect.

"Hey, have you seen Zack Fair?"

Kadaj looked up to see a boy a bit younger than himself looking at him eagerly through large blue eyes. He held back a chuckle at the way the boy's hair stuck up in every direction. "Shouldn't he be on the SOLDIER floor?"

"I looked there," the boy said, scrunching his eyebrows together, "but he wasn't there. The only people I could find were Angeal, Sephiroth, and some other people that weren't Zack….I'm Cloud, by the way. Who are you?"

"Kadaj," he replied, amused by the boy's rant, "and I wouldn't know where to find Zack. I'm not a SOLDIER – I'm a Turk."

"Oh, well, thanks anyway…" the boy muttered as he walked away.

"Cloud," Kadaj whispered, committing his name and face to memory.

"The annoying blonde kid?" Kadaj jumped at the sound of Reno's voice. "He worships Zack like you worship Sephiroth. Poor kid, thinks if he hangs around enough Zack will like him."

"Yeah? Well, I would rather death with him than you," Kadaj said, glaring at Reno through narrowed eyes. "I thought I wasn't your partner anymore."

"Well, Mr. President thinks otherwise. I'm stuck with you until this whole Genesis, anti-ShinRa group mess is cleaned up. Get used to me, kid, we're stuck for a while."

"I really hate the sound of that 'for a while' bit."

"Finally, something we really agree on."

"Now, now, fight nice boys. But if you can't fight nice, I have a few SOLDIERs who would like to watch."

"I'll give you—Sir!" Reno said, shocked to see the President with Sephiroth.

"Yes, I agree, Sephiroth. Keeping them together would be an excellent way to teach them patience," softly chuckling, the President and Sephiroth walked away.

As they were leaving, Zack walked in. "What did I miss? Was there a meeting? Are we leaving again?"

Kadaj ignored his questions. "Your friend Cloud was looking for you."

* * *

Sephiroth had put off telling Angeal about Genesis. He had some extensive thinking to do on that subject, and would not discuss things until he had done it. He knew Angeal would be confused by Sephiroth's avoidance of him, but did not think he was quite ready to see Angeal's face at the implications. He also did not plan to discuss his conversation that he had with Genesis with anyone else.

It took him a moment to realize he was back on the SOLDIER floor, staring out the window once more.

"Zack told me you saw Genesis in Kalm."

Mentally, Sephiroth sighed, and then glanced at Angeal out of the corner of his eye before going back to the view. "Yes, we did."

"He said you are the only one you really spoke to him. He said you were being quiet about it."

"I am the only one he spoke to, yes. I didn't share the information because it was for me alone. He says it involves you as well, but I assume he'll tell you when he's ready."

"What did he say, Sephiroth?"

"The same as always. Quoting LOVELESS and never really getting to the point." He saw a slight smile cross the dark-haired man's face.

"That does sound like typical Genesis, all right. Yes, I suppose he'll get to the point eventually. It must have been important for him to even say anything at all."

"Yes, it must have been," Sephiroth replied, his mind filtering swiftly through what had been said, trying to make sense of it.

"Sephiroth, do me a favor." Sephiroth turned to Angeal showing both his attention, and a slight nod for him to go on. "I think President ShinRa is planning on keeping Zack with you for a while. Keep an eye on him. He has a tendency to get distracted and a little over-enthusiastic at times."

"I think you forgot over-dramatic, but I'll see what I can do. As long as I can, I'll make sure he stays in one piece. If he goes looking for trouble, though, I can't make any promises." A slight smile crossed Sephiroth's face as a swift look of amusement and relief crossed Angeal's face. They both turned as they heard the lift open.

"Zack, I know you're here somewhe—oh, uh, sorry," the boy said, seeming to blush all the way to the ends of his spikey hair. He turned and ran back into the lift before the doors had a chance to shut.

"He sure does keep interesting company, I'll give him that. Next thing you know, he'll be best friends with a Turk."

"It really wouldn't surprise me. I don't think there is anyone that Zack couldn't make friends with. Oh, and speaking of Turks, I hear they have a new one."

"Kadaj. They stuck him with Reno for a partner. Neither is too happy about that arrangement."

"I can imagine. Poor kid, he's going to get the wrong idea about working for ShinRa."

"Kadaj is different from Reno. He's more like a SOLDIER than a Turk. I honestly think if given the opportunity, he would switch."

"Yes, I've heard he's different from Reno. In fact, I've heard he's a lot like you." Sephiroth didn't reply, turning once again to look out the window. "But of course, you have no response for that." Neither SOLDIER heard Genesis' approach from behind.

"Why would he? I'm sure if he knew the truth, if either of you knew, there would be a response. There is so much you don't know, Kadaj included. In time, the truth shall be known, and you will all join my cause." With that, Genesis walked off, softly quoting LOVELESS to himself.

"This is not the first time he's mentioned something about truth," Angeal said patiently, knowing that if he wished, Sephiroth could be as evasive as Genesis.

"Yes, it was mentioned, but never explained. In fact, a lot was mentioned. Angeal, Genesis is very troubled. He told me he killed his parents, and yet his only explanation was that they lied to him, that they were ShinRa's lapdogs. He says we are monsters, yet never told me why. Not that he really had time, thanks to the infantry that showed up," he allowed just a hint of worry touch his eyes, instantly seeing the worry reflected by Angeal's.

"What does he mean…monsters?"

"Yes, now we need to wait for an explanation or a reason." Both SOLDIER First Classes turned to gaze out the window, each lost in his own troubled thoughts.

* * *

Author's Note :: Hope that was worth the wait, sorry for the delay – I blame my job, and probably too much time spent role-playing, heh. Anyway, the next chapter is already started and on its way, as long as everyone wants it! Plus, neither of the authors of this story are Cloud fans – and that's just giving readers a fair warning.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note :: Thanks so much for sticking with the story so far! And thanks especially to my couple of reviewers – you guys make me smile the most, though my high traffic numbers area also quite nice.

* * *

Chapter Six

~Me

"So, what do we do now?"

Reno glanced sideways towards the voice he was coming to hate more and more, an annoyed look not disguised on his face. He was seated on the floor near the door to the President's office, and his silver-haired 'comrade' was pacing back and forth in the corridor. Reno shook his head at the other man's restless attitude, personally feeling grateful for the break. "I know this might be a stretch for you," Reno then stated, his tone flat and bored, "but we wait for our next orders. Situations like this one are touchy – lots of debate by the big guys before decisions are made." A satisfied smirk crossed the Turk's face then, happy that he had managed to fit a little lesson in there for his 'trainee' without really trying – that should qualify for his daily duty as teacher.

Kadaj finally stopped pacing, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the wall near where Reno sat, though the older Turk noticed the boy's fingers had turned to drumming on his arm – he assumed to make up for the lack of pacing. Really, Reno didn't know where all that pent-up energy came from, and it was a far cry from his normal dealings with his laidback partner. "Do you think it will still have something to do with what happened in Kalm?" Kadaj then asked, never looking to the ginger Turk.

Reno let out a bit of a scoff, pulling his goggles from his forehead and absently wiping the lenses off with his jacket, proving that despite the common belief, they were not permanently attached to his skull. "We wouldn't be lucky enough to get off that easily," he then replied smoothly, his own gaze focused on the white wall across from him. :"Somehow, the Turks always end up having to clean up the messes the SOLDIER program leaves in its wake. Honestly, I think they do more harm than good."

The Turk finally changed a glance at the boy as he carefully replaced the goggles to their proper place, and he noticed that Kadaj seemed to have a tight grip on his own arms, his face set. Reno shook his head, not bothering to consider what it was that may have offended or angered him or whatever, and rather decided it was safer to return his attention to the wall. "Although," he then continued after a few moments of silence, "I doubt Sephiroth mentioned Genesis in his report to the President, so you never know what we might be chasing after next."

That seemed to bring Kadaj's attention out of his own thoughts and back to the present. "Why do you think that?" Kadaj's question was emotionless, and for a short moment Reno was actually curious as to what the other man was thinking.

"He wouldn't even talk to _us _about it," Reno then said with a shrug, "Don't ask me to try to guess anything about how Sephiroth's mind works, kid, but I just have a feeling he conveniently left out the detail about his friend."

Another silence developed between them, hanging thickly in the air for a few long seconds until Kadaj finally broke it. "Are _you_ going to say anything about Genesis?" His voice was low and soft, and still unreadable.

Reno scoffed at the question, waving his hand dismissively. "Of course I'm not – it would just give me more to have to deal with. If Sephiroth wants to give himself more work, fine – but I'm not volunteering for it."

Before Reno could say anything more and as if on cue, the door to the office swung open, revealing the Turk leader – Reno didn't bother getting to his feet as he was certain the President was not following. "You're going to Wutai – both of you," Tseng's voice was as devoid of emotion as always, though Reno was certain the look he received was a cold one – perhaps he was still upset about their earlier exchange.

However, Reno had more pressing issues to deal with. "Want to run that by me again?" his tone was dripping with annoyance.

"You heard me – but don't worry, you won't be going alone," Tseng continued, and Reno was certain that behind that flat tone, the dark-haired man was really enjoying this. "You, Kadaj, and your two new SOLDIER friends are going – if the faction ever spreads that far, we'll have a serious problem on our hands. Considering yourselves…_peacekeepers_." With that, Tseng began to leave the pair in the corridor, and then paused, glancing over his shoulder, "And try to actually keep the peace this time."

Reno frowned at his superior's retreating back, still not rising to his feet, but rather slouching down even further. Wutai was about as far away from Midgar has possible, and the culture that he considered 'backwards' was anything but ShinRa-friendly. Whilst it was true that the faction gaining ground there could be a problem, it was technically always a problem there. Thus, Reno knew there was more to this order than face value – and also that the only 'peacekeepers' there would be the intimidators known as SOLDIER operatives. As for himself – oh, and Kadaj – this order meant watching for suspicious activity, investigating rumours, and taking whatever measures necessary to insure anything anti-ShinRa was silenced before word of it spread from the island.

All this to Reno just equalled a lot of work for a lot of days away from the comforts of Midgar he was so used to, as well as people like Rude. It meant setting up in a hostile area with no one for company but three other men (none of them his first choice for companionship) and a stressful few days, all whilst baby-sitting the new guy. Just great…maybe he had pushed his luck a bit too far this time.

"Do you want me to contact Sephiroth and Zack with the news?" Kadaj's suddenly excited tone and expression made Reno feel like said 'news' was that the two of them were engaged, rather than an assignment he would rather skip. Reno just shook his head at the boy's excitement, thinking he really didn't understand what he was getting into.

"Something tells me you don't have Sephiroth's number," Reno then replied darkly, hoping that crushing Kadaj would make himself feel better – though it didn't. "I'll take care of it." Reno shifted a bit to reach his mobile, but after flipping it open, frowned at the screen. He really didn't have the motivation to talk to either SOLDIER on the phone, but he couldn't hardly let Kadaj do it after what he had just said. "Let's hope ShinRa splurged and put texting on the SOLDIER mobiles," he then muttered, thumbs dutifully typing away.

* * *

"Well, I can't really say much about it – its kind of a SOLIDER thing," Zack shrugged a bit sheepishly, frowning at how disappointed he knew that had to sound as an answer. The blonde teen before him offered a weak smile in response.

"I…understand. SOLDIER business," Cloud replied, though Zack's disappointment was mirrored tenfold in the boy's blue eyes. Zack had never been certain what the young infantryman's obsession with the SOLDIER program was, but every time they were together the blonde was always curious about what had been happening – and every conversation seemed to make their friendship stronger. Actually, the SOLDIER was beginning to see Cloud even differently from Kunsel, his other best friend – Cloud seemed more and more like a little brother.

"Yes, and this is the SOLDIER level – and I suggest you more on, infantryman," Sephiroth's voice, though low, commanded authority as the entered the room, offering a stern look at the two spikey-haired men before him. Zack thought he saw Sephiroth's gaze hold Cloud's perhaps a moment longer than necessary, but he shrugged it off as his imagination.

"Yes, General, sir! I am sorry, sir!" Cloud's voice squeaked a bit before Zack could think of a protest to allow the blonde to stay longer, and Cloud had soon pulled on his helmet once more and entered the lift, leaving Zack and Sephiroth alone.

"Speaking of 'SOLDIER business,'" Sephiroth began, his cold gaze focusing on Zack's still disappointed one, "I am sure Angeal appreciates having you as his well of information – but do not mention the matter of Genesis to anyone else. It is Angeal and I's burden to bear." Sephiroth paused for a moment before adding, "I cannot expect you to understand it."

"Uh, okay," Zack replied with a shrug, scratching his head a bit in confusion but not pressing the issue, though it did make him more curious about the exchange between the two older men. "I can keep a secret."

"Doubtful, but it would be in your best interest to try extra hard to keep this one." Again, for speaking so softly, Sephiroth's tone somehow commanded obedience. "However, something tells me our mutual involvement in this is not yet over." And with those words, Sephiroth followed Cloud's footsteps towards the lift, though he was headed for SOLDIER Director Lazard's office, Zack assumed.

After standing aloe in silence for a few moments, wondering what to do next, Zack felt his feet take him towards the lift as well, though when he exited, it was to leave the ShinRa building behind him. As he approached the fountain in the square before the building, his mako eyes lit up in recognition of a familiar form and just who he had wanted to see – fellow SOLDIER operative and his best friend Kunsel, who was talking to a few random women. As Zack jogged up to the group, the conversation seemed to cease – and with it, so did Zack's grin. Just as he reached the group, the woman bade their farewells to his friend, not meeting Zack's eyes as they walked away.

"Hey, Kunsel," Zack said softly, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck as even his naïve personality could see that he may not be as welcomed by his friend as he would have liked.

"Hey Zack," Kunsel replied, and Zack could tell the words were spoken through gritted teeth, "I thought you were out on assignment."

"I'm kind of in between them at the moment," Zack replied with a shrug.

"Well, then go out and have a good time – one day you may not make it back to Midgar, after all."

Zack chuckled a bit at his friend's comment, failing to see any serious implications behind it. "What are you talking about? I always come back – you can't get rid of me that easily." He playfully pushed the other man a bit, and soon they were both laughing together. "So, can I come with you this time, Kunsel?"

The other SOLDIER's laughter abruptly ceased, and Kunsel began to shake his head rather fervently. "No way, Zack. You saw what just happened. No offence, but you really…well…cramp my style."

Zack stared open-mouthed at the words coming from his friend's lips – was that really the reason that Kunsel always suggested the two split ways on their Midgar wanderings? Did Kunsel really have more luck without Zack with him? That realization surprised Zack almost more than finding Genesis in Kalm had – and it certainly upset him more. After all, he had always considered himself to be both the looks _and _the charm between the two of them, but then…

"But I…" Zack began, but his words were cut off by the unexpected sound of a few chirping beeps fro his pocket. "A text message?" he asked, confusion crossing his face as he pulled his mobile from his pocket, his eyes quickly scanning the words on the screen. "I…I'm going to Wutai," he then announced rather awkwardly, thinking it would be strange to stop the conversation to read a message and then offer no explanation.

"Wutai?" Kunsel repeated, Zack's confusion mirrored in his tone, "Uh, have a good trip? I'll be sure to e-mail you if you miss anything back here."

"Yeah, thanks," Zack replied a bit sourly, his emotions mixed with being upset with Kunsel's earlier revelation, and extremely excited and curious about the mission. It was a dangerous combination, and all the rushing adrenaline was almost causing Zack to literally twitch – mako really did crazy things to the body.

* * *

~Friend

Yet again, Kadaj was lost in his own thoughts. His emotions were flying back and forth between excitement, curiosity, and irritation. He was beside himself at the prospect of spending more time with the two SOLDIERs, but the latter two emotions were reserved for his 'partner.' He was not too excited to spend time with someone who clearly disliked him, but had noticed Reno look at him with something akin to curiosity as if he almost cared what was on his mind. He shook his head to cleanse it before those thoughts led him into some reckless action like actually trying to talk to his fellow Turk.

Instead, he turned his attention to what Reno had told him about Wutai. Well, what he thought Reno should have told him about Wutai, which would have been anything. Kadaj had seen the brief worry flash through the older Turk's eyes, though he knew he would never admit to it.

He made his way through the building and outside, noticing the dark-haired SOLDIER he approached, hoping to get information from a slightly friendlier source. He almost turned back when he noticed the young SOLDIER wearing an expression that was very different from his normal big smile, and almost twitching in what appeared to be irritation.

"Erm, Zack," Kadaj asked slightly hesitantly, "Can I ask you a question?"

Zack shook his head slowly, then turned to Kadaj with his normal sunny smile. "Sure, ask away!"

"When Tseng told Reno we were going to Wutai, he looked nervous. Why?" Kadaj noticed the dark-haired boy seemed to consider his answer before he replied, causing Kadaj to lose his violent temper. "I'm not a child. I'm perfectly capable of understanding any explanation you give, even if you think its complex. Don't think you can frighten me, either – not much frightens me. Oh second thought, maybe I'll go ask Reno. At least he doesn't think of me as an unintelligent child." He turned and stormed into the building again, leaving a very bewildered Zack behind him.

As Kadaj reentered the building, he realized he had lied to the SOLDIER he could easily see becoming a friend. He had implied Reno liked and respected him, when he was really sure Reno _did _think he was an unintelligent, worthless, pain-in-the-behind child.

He stood in the lobby for a minute before turning and exiting the building once more. As he passed the spot of his earlier confrontation with Zack, he noticed the dark-haired SOLDIER was no long there. As he wandered the streets of Midgar, he realized it was becoming something of a habit for him. He felt more comfortable in the streets where he was just another face, as opposed to at ShinRa where he was clearly disliked by his fellow Turks, and where everyone else whispered behind their hands as he passed. Everyone except Zack. Again, it crossed Kadaj's mind that he and Zack could become friends as long as he kept his temper in check. He knew that would be easier said than done, though, as he set off to find someone who could tell him about Wutai and why it seemed to have everyone so worried. He couldn't help but let out a snort of a laughter as he tried to picture Reno and himself being 'peace keepers.' Personally, he couldn't think of two less peaceful people.

He entered a random building, finding himself once again in the bar where once again Reno was nursing a drink and a cigarette. Once again, he went as far as possible from his 'partner' to take a seat. Somehow, Reno still saw him, but instead of yelling, he motioned him over.

"Sit," Reno said, pointing to the chair across from him. Kadaj did, knowing Reno would fill him in when he was ready, and humouring Reno's dramatics. "As much as I would enjoy you getting blindsided in Wutai, I suppose I would get hell if I didn't at least give you some information. Wutai is the opposite of Midgar. While we accept ShinRa and what they have done, the people there despise it. We will _not _get a warm welcome. I know it was said we were told to be 'peace keepers,' but really our job is to keep our eyes and ears open, and leave the actual keeping of peace to SOLDIER. There, you're informed, now get out of my sight."

As Kadaj left, he smiled to himself. Reno was so unpredictable sometimes, yet he was always Reno.

* * *

Sephiroth pulled his mobile out of his pocket, frowning as he saw he had a text message. He had heard the message arrive, but ignored it due to the fact that he was in a meeting with Lazard. He knew there was more to this new mission than peacekeeping, and disliked being so uninformed. As he read the text that was clearly from Reno, he allowed himself a smile and read it again:

"_Going to Wutai. Peacekeeping, load of crap. See you there."_

"Well, Turk," Sephiroth said to himself, "For once, I completely agree with you."

"Agree on what?" Sephiroth suppressed a grin at the sound of Zack's excited voice, "Are we really going to Wutai? What does Reno mean, the peacekeeping is a load of crap? Keeping peace is why we're going, isn't it, so why would he say that?"

Sephiroth held his hand up to stop what could be an endless flow of questions. "Yes, SOLDIER, we are going to Wutai. I don't think Reno meant keeping the peace is a waste of time, he just feels, as do I, that there is more to this than they are telling us. I don't like this," he said more to himself than actually to Zack, "It almost feels like we're walking blindfolded into a trap." He saw a frown crease the younger man's normally smiling features.

"I was thinking the same thing, sir. Normally we are so well informed, and now, nothing. I was hoping I was just uninformed because of my rank, but if they aren't telling you…" Zack trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished, but not the thought.

"I suppose we must be prepared for a lot of information at once upon arrival, and indeed some real peacekeeping as well as self-defense." He kept his voice calm, yet internally he was in turmoil. It was hard to hear his worries voiced by the younger man, but he kept his face and voice emotionless. Odds were they were worrying over nothing and they really were just going to keep peace. He chuckled to himself as the thought crossed his mind that he had been spending too much time with the two younger men and the ever-imaginative Reno. His thoughts were beginning to run away with him as he knew theirs often did.

_If I'm not careful_, he thought to himself, _I could become just as paranoid and high strung as they are_. Even as he thought the words, he knew it would never happen no matter how long he was with them. This thought caused him to chuckle even more to himself.

"Sir?" he heard the younger SOLDIER ask tentatively, clearly confused by his display of honest amusement.

"Go get ready, SOLDIER. We'll be leaving soon."

"Yes, sir."

Sephiroth watched the younger SOLDIER walk away and thought to himself, _He's a good SOLDIER. A bit overenthusiastic, but the calm will come with time, age, and experience. Yes, one day he will be a great SOLDIER, perhaps even as good as his mentor Angeal. _He returned to his quarters himself, in reality nothing more than his office, and pulled his beloved blade onto his desk.

He worked slowly, cleaning and polishing the blade to perfection. He was very particular about his weapon, about everything, actually, but especially his weapon. It was his livelihood, and he insisted it be kept pristine. After a moment of thought, he also sharpened it. He got the feeling that a sharp blade would be important on this trip – not that his blade was ever dulled.

Sephiroth met Zack and the Turks in the lobby, and was once again troubled by Kadaj's resemblance to him, though he brushed the thoughts aside quickly. He turned to Reno, he corners of his lips turned up in a slight grin. "I would say we'll meet you there, but I think it best we travel together. I'll save your ears and let the two talkers be in the back."

Reno gave him a grudgingly grateful look. "I guess I would rather deal with stoic silence than incessant chattering. C'mon," Reno said to the other three, "the helicopter is this way."

"Wow," Kadaj said snidely, "They gave you another one after what happened to the last one?"

Sephiroth smiled as Reno sputtered indignantly for a moment and then said angrily, "That's enough snark from you, rookie!"

Sephiroth sighed, turned to Zack, and said, "Well, this is going to be an interesting trip."

* * *

Author's Note :: Well, there you have it! I actually really like this chapter, though small notes have started showing up in the margins of our notebook…things such as the fact that Tseng seems to be becoming a main character in the story (my fault) and thus, I'm on Tseng-ban for a while, so don't expect to see him soon, heh. Oh, and that my fellow writer likes the word 'snark.' Just wanted to put that out there. Thanks for reading! We love reviews! *wink*


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